Blogging the NTEN Conference

3. Open interoperability breeds innovation — and software providers are starting to get it. Most software vendors I spoke with saw open access to data and services as a must-have feature to remain competitive — this is good news!

Andrew’s Observations:

1. I noticed a positive continued commitment from software vendors to open the door to NTEN members and smaller organizations. I sat in on a session led by Google’s Frederick Vallaey who promised to expedite Google Grant approvals for NTEN members. This provides any registered 501(c)(3) three months of free Adwords. I also participated in a session titled “SalesForce for Good Not Evil” in which some smaller organizations showed how a central commercial platform using SalesForce’s offer of 10 free licenses for charitable orgs. Other attendees including Mozy, ReadyTalk and (ahem) Forum One’s own ProjectSpaces also offer discounts. Lesson learned: Always ask product vendors whether there is a nonprofit discount.