Introduction

This chapter explores the challenge of gaining support for open source geospatial technology in organizations and features insights from Todd Baar, a director of geospatial product and solutions, on successful promotion strategies.

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Embracing Open-Source Geospatial Technology is easy as an individual but what if you want your organization to use FOSS4G

How do you get strategic buy-in?

It turns out that the software does not sell itself and that even in the age of AI we still have to convince a human if we want organizational change to to happen.

I think the temptation is to say hey look at this long list of specifications and notice how FOSS4G is often better or equal to the close source equivalent.

Or hey look at the price tag … it costs nothing which is way cheaper than this other thing which costs more than nothing.

While this might be all the argumentation you need in some cases … in general, making change happen is hard, and it's going to require more than that.

That's why I have invited Todd Barr back on the podcast to walk us through what it takes to get an organization to Embrace Open-Source Geospatial Technology.

Here are a few of the key points

Getting buy-in for open-source software and addressing concerns about security and IP protection
Perspectives of External and internal stakeholders on open-source Software
Importance of collaboration, empathy, and understanding in decision-making and stakeholder management
Challenges of implementing open source technology in a corporate environment
Benefits of using open source solutions, such as faster analysis, increased stability, and flexibility for innovation
Accessibility and support in open source communities, including direct interaction with developers and availability of external consultants
Customization and development work required for creating vertical solutions with open-source components
Finding skilled developers and training them in geospatial technology
Cost-saving advantages of open source technology in cloud computing
Leading arguments for implementing open source software: cost savings and freedom to modify and customize
Advocacy for supporting and integrating with the open source community.