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.


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About OpusVL

OpusVL implement business management software and professional Open Source solutions. Developing custom solutions since 1999.