01342nas a2200133   4500008004100000022001400041245006900055210006900124260004200193520089700235100001801132700002201150856003601172       2010                        eng d  a1913-610200aOpen Source Contributions as a Complement to Your Sales Strategy0 aOpen Source Contributions as a Complement to Your Sales Strategy  aOttawabTalent First Networkc10/20103 aFreeform 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.1 aCôté, Jason1 aEgelstaff, Julian  uhttp://timreview.ca/article/387