@article {387, title = {Open Source Contributions as a Complement to Your Sales Strategy}, journal = {Open Source Business Resource}, year = {2010}, month = {10/2010}, publisher = {Talent First Network}, type = {Articles}, address = {Ottawa}, abstract = {Freeform Solutions, a not-for-profit IT consultancy, discovered a large portion of its work was being carried out without being paid for directly from consulting fees. This led to an investigation of the nature of such pro bono work, and what value it could provide to Freeform and its clients. Supporting open source communities was determined to be the most significant use of the time possible. Accordingly, Freeform has taken steps to focus a significant portion of its work on that task, and to integrate this work with its overall orientation to clients. This commitment to open source provides a strong differentiator in the marketplace. It also enables one kind of prioritization of sales leads. Ultimately, the commitment to the work is considered the most important aspect of the work, rather than the specific kind of activities that are undertaken, or how they are paid for.}, issn = {1913-6102}, url = {http://timreview.ca/article/387}, author = {Jason C{\^o}t{\'e} and Julian Egelstaff} }