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Frequently Asked Questions

Please see also:

• Developer FAQs
• Installation Instructions
• Module Descriptions
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Please contact us and tell us about your question if you don't find it on this page.

What is ]project-open[?

It depends on what you are looking at:

• It's an Open-Source project tracking system, a bit more professional
  then some other opern-source systems, and considerably cheaper then
  commercial systems. It manages project, clients, invoices, employees &
  freelancers, a time shett and travel costs.
• It's main purpose is to integrate all work on a single project. It
  provides a Web-space with distinguished areas for every project phase
  and allows both freelancers and clients to collaborate, limiting their
  access rights to see internal or protected data.

What is the difference between ]project-translation[ and ]project-open[?

]project-translation[ is a specific product, while ]project-open[ refers to our company and its products in general.

What is Open-Source Software?

Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software:

• The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
  
• The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
  
• The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
  
• The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.

[Source: http://www.gnu.org]

How is ]project-open[ different from other projects?

There are zillions (atleast 150...) project management systems in the market. However, ]project-open[ is the only open-source based Project-ERP with professional characteristics such as permission management and cost control.

I'm afraid to get locked-in!

Right, every system locks you in to a certain degree. This lock-in effect is caused by:

• The cost of the initial installation
• By the cost to adapt the system to the secific needs of your company.
• The learning/change effort by the system users

There are several points to ]po[ why it locks you in less:

• It's easy to learn, so that your in-house staff will be able to adapt the system, so that you don't need expensive vendor consultants if you want. An experienced Web-developer needs some 4-8 hours to setup a customized web page.
• All of its data are stored in a straight-forward data model, stored on a relational database that allows cross-platform ODBC/JDBC access. So you may even ignore the Web-frontend and start your own development with this datamodel as a base.
• There is an open-source community behind the system (http://www.openacs.org/), with some 6000 registered members and some 10 companies that are offering services around this platform. You may contact any of them for service if you want.

Can I trust Open Source for my ERP System?

Yes you can (what a question!). Actually, open-source software is much safer to use then any proprietary solution because you are not tied to a single vendor. Even your in-house staff may maintain the system if you want.

• The source-code of the software is available free of charge.
• That you can adapt the software to your business needs yourself or by contracting a third party

But can you trust somebody (the founders of ]po[) who "sell" their software in this way? Something must be wrong with this idea, or not? The secret is that Open Source software is considerably cheaper to produce then proprietary software. There are two important factors that contribute:

1. The cost of sales is considerably lower.
   We don't need to employ an expensive salesforce, a marketing team etc., because the software is free. This costs represents some 20% - 35% of the price that you normally pay.
2. We can use the code of other Open Source projects.
   ]po[ is build on the code that ArsDigita (being bought by RedHat) once wrote to manage their internal operations. ArsDigita released this code under the GNU Publice License, allowing us to jumpstart our project. The original code still represents some 70% of ]po[, time and money that we have saved, compared to a propietary development.
3. We get free contribution from "the community".
   There is a growing group of users or ]po[ who contribute to the development of the system without fee.
4. We expect a wider distribution of the software, compared to proprietary systems.
5. Finally, we (the founders) hope to earn a fair amount of money by providing professional services and support for our software. A quick and painless installation, professional training and a support contract increase your ROI.

So, there is a solid revenue base for a company working using this business model, and these revenues will keep the company going.

Is ]po[ Availiable in French, Spanish or German?

Not yet. We are currently supporting English as the only language, because it is accepted by most project-oriented organizations. However, the underlying OpenACS platform already supports localization, so we will probably add other languages in the future.

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