Hi All, I have a question which is not exactly on topic, but is close enough that I'm hoping some of you can point me in the right direction.
So, I'm on my campus IT committee, the primary role of which is to oversee the campus budget for academic computing. As a new member of this committee, I recently had my first taste of the process by which my institution makes a large software purchase. This is probably very similar to the process on other campuses. In a nutshell: Needs are identified, requirements are specified and an initial budget is approved. Then the rubber meets the road when the university issues a Request for Proposals (RFP). Vendors reply to the RFP, and a committee selects the top three or so to come to campus to give presentations. Then opinions are polled, negotiations ensue, costs are nailed down and a final selection is made. This process seems to me to very much favor commercial software over open-source if for no other reason than the fact that most open-source software projects don't have a national network of sales-people to respond to RFPs. In the particular case I have in mind, for example, we wanted to get a content-management system for Blackboard. Three companies responded: Oracle, Equella and EMC - all very expensive products. Except for Equella, all very inappropriate us (e.g. only equella actually integrates with blackboard out of the box. The Oracle rep told us about how happy Coca-Cola and Disney are with their product, but stared blankly when I asked about support for SCORM). However, there are some very good open-source content management systems out there, some specifically built with academia in mind, but they never got considered and never would be considered under our RFP process. We had a very similar experience acquiring a web-conferencing system for the campus. (And on our campus Moodle and Sakai stand no chance against Blackboard's sales army.) So, my question: how could this process be changed to give quality open-source solutions a place at the table? At a minimum, for example, any suggestions for how to get our RFPs noticed by open-source projects that have the resources or corporate supporters to respond (even if we don't know they exist?) Again, I realize this isn't exactly on topic - but I'm hoping some of you might have some insight into this or maybe suggestions on where to look. Thanks! Jason
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