The SpagoWorld initiative vision focuses on the sustainable development of mission-critical applications for enterprises and organizations.
It’s all about project-oriented solutions, balancing the weights in the development phase.
In other words: it’s about asking customers to buy less and spend better.
Some days ago, I had a glance at a news referencing the world’s 50 most innovative companies in 2012. My attention was attracted by Patagonia, ranking 14th, according to the following reason: “for selling more by encouraging customers to buy less”. (To read the full story, among various posts, you can read this one, October 2001)
Immediately I thought: wohw, what a nice slogan! It’s what I usually say. SpagoBI, SpagoWorld flagship project, is a good example! Am I right?
Mutatis Mutandis
Patagonia is a goods company dealing with a consumer market and fostering an environmental initiative.
SpagoBI is a work unit (SpagoBI Competency Center ) of a large IT company, producing an open source suite dealing with Business Intelligence , a very complex, crowded and enterprise-level market in the IT domain. Moreover, SpagoBI fosters an ecological approach, where ecology refers to ecology–of-value , as a new collaborative and sustainable business growth, rather than to the natural environment.
Notwithstanding, both push the same message asking customers to buy less, just what they really need (and not what they just desire), and consequently spending better. (Finally, if the side-effect for Patagonia is selling more, I’m happy to see SpagoBI even selling more services in time as well).
What’s the reason?
SpagoBI is the only entirely Open Source Business Intelligence suite, offering all BI capabilities in open source (more than 20 analytical and operational engines, some of which are totally unique in the information intelligence domain), with a complete availability of a stable and mature software code, as a free software at no charge.
SpagoBI particular pure open source business model eliminates licensing sales, separating the rights to use the software from the sale of supporting services, avoiding both software lock-in (no customer obligation to buy) and vendor lock-in. This is the perfect fit for companies and organizations willing to buy less and spend better, investing budget in the purchase of professional services and maintenance supporting the development of their business application software.
In the BI context, many times I see discussions about the capability of tools to fit users’ requirements. Nowadays, in a BI linkedin group is still active a never ending discussion referring to the following question: Why are so much of the business intelligence discussions about tools and not on how to get the right intelligence based on the requirements of the customers and how to use it?
My comment is obvious. A tool (a suite, I mean) is necessary. But from the beginning, SpagoBI suite has pushed the project-oriented approach as stated in SpagoBI vision: “Your Project is more valuable than our products: we believe that a good product can actually improve your project, if it promotes a project-oriented solution, balancing the weights in the development phase. Too often, the project development is focused on the project adaptation to a costly product. On the other hand, a project-oriented solution is designed so as to realize customized applications, focusing on the project development. This way, it enhances the project start-up, thanks to a new ratio among development measurement, cost and quality of results, unlike many current solutions, based on proprietary products and characterized by price discrepancies”.
Organizations need a good tool/suite, responding to end-user requirements and their strategic goals, instead of to vendor’s expectations.
In conclusion
Customers can really buy less (no product-licenses at least), and spend better (in integration, in the development responding to their analytical needs) choosing open source software products (and an everlasting open product protecting software freedom, when SpagoBI).