Midlands Based Open Source Business Wins Technology Innovator Award
OpusVL are proud to have been selected for the
2016 technology innovator awards with Corporate
Magazine, under the category of innovation in
Open Source Business Management Software.
We have been working hard to help support and grow
the Open Source marketplace and we appreciate
the recognition of our efforts through this award,
especially as our nomination was a surprise.
In recent times, the public sector has called for Open
source and Open standards to be considered for
any software project, as this is free from vendor lock
in and the source code is ‘proof read’ by hundreds
or even thousands of developers.
History shows that the public sector has frequently
invested in creating software but once built, has to
pay again for licenses, then other departments also
have to pay again, and the software and know-how
is then owned by an external private company. We
have challenged this and supported a ‘custodian’
model for the acquisition of Free and Open Source
technology for the public sector, a model which has
been adopted in the Code 4 Health project. (link
http://www.itproportal.com/2016/06/06/flexibase-
and-code4health-the-wider-implications/)
The appetite for the benefits driven by implementing
Open Source is found across the private sector.
In particular, finance, retail, distribution, logistics,
hospitality and leisure companies have sought
our services. We have found that when customers
approach us, they generally have one of 5
challenges: a need for automation, wrestling with
disjointed systems and data, struggling to keep up
with an evolving industry, existing technology that
cannot support their growth, and a desire to reduce
operating costs.
The digital workspace of our customer is at the core
of efficient operations and if it’s working correctly, we
believe it shouldn’t even be on your mind.
OpusVL’s innovative approach is built around
delivering scalable solutions to enable
interoperability and customisation, eliminating
cumbersome workarounds and wasted time. We
typically meet 80% of software requirements with
free, out-of-the-box open source applications that do
not have license costs. Therefore the majority of the
budget is available to be invested on the remaining
user specific requirements.
Our engagement approach has evolved over
17 years of project delivery and focuses on a
successful outcome for our customer. This is
achieved by first clarifying the business need
through analysis of our clients business and critical
processes, then determining the optimal plan
of implementation. Followed by the delivery of
appropriate Open Source solutions, concluding
with on-boarding the organisation and an orderly
change management activity, while ensuring
ongoing support and maintenance are catered for.
Throughout the process, we manage a technology
roadmap, detailing the priority of each section of
the project so immediate items are fully specified
whilst enabling the delivery team to share the future
plans for the client. It is through this mature process
that we have been successful in the delivery of
innovation and value for our customers which in
turn supports their success.
Our ethos is based on working in partnership with
the customer throughout the life cycle of the project
to ensure an appropriate solution, that is tailored
around the unique and often complex needs of the
clients business. Software is the enabler that helps
you carry out your business functions, but it’s the
process of implementation itself that is primarily
important for the client to realise the benefits.
We operate an open culture, which gives our
team of designers, technical architects and project
CV Technology Innovator Awards 2016 l 53
managers the space to analyse and evaluate
scenarios, solve issues and contribute to the wider
community as a by-product. Staff regularly engage
with and actively contribute to the Open Source
communities either at a code level or delivering talks
and thought leadership around their specialist skills.
Our employees are involved with teaching coding
clubs in schools (Link http://blogs.opusvl.com/
opusvl/Boughton-Lee-Junior-School-taste-of-
raspberry-pi and regularly share free and Open
Source innovations such as govstrap.io which
combines the government digital services theme
with bootstrap, to enable responsively designed
government websites to be deployed in a matter of
minutes, therefore eliminating the need to hire costly
website designers. (link govstrap.io)
Looking forward, our clients are demanding more
efficient interaction between technology and users.
They expect security by default and are becoming
more uncomfortable with the feeling of being locked
in to a particular vendor. The promise of cloud is
becoming laced with the fear that the client is not
in control of their data or having their applications
“switched off” without warning.
Fewer companies are prepared to maintain the use
of spreadsheets for every-day data management
yet business systems to replace these are required
to offer a similar level of flexibility by the modern
day business owner. Accessibility of data across
any device has become standard in recent times,
and the tools now must evolve to provide real-time
collaboration to enable increasing efficiency of
processing information, and more productive use of
resource.
This award has further strengthened our leadership
in professional Open Source delivery at a time
when open technology has become an everyday
requirement for almost all organisations.