dhis2-users team mailing list archive

[Mark Spohr <mhspohr@xxxxxxxxx>]

I was being facetious in my $500,000 comment.
The DHIS software is probably worth $500,000 and the full costs of
implementation and training for an organization are significant.  The
savings come from being able to leverage the development work of others (and
to contribute your changes back to the project.)
DHIS is quality software which is mature and well supported.  Many open
source projects are not as good as DHIS.

Hopefully I can recruit another organization to use it and to contribute
back.

All the best,
Mark

On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 2:44 PM, Alvin Marcelo <alvin.marcelo@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> Dear Mark,
>
> I think there are not many studies on the cost-benefit of FOSS
> implementations.  My hypothesis is that proprietary systems are charging
> just about right given that they try to keep the code closed (and therefore
> need to maintain operational expenses for keeping it locked and controlling
> all changes centrally). Those will definitely amount to expenses.
>
> On the other hand, a strategy for open source leverages volunteerism but is
> often plagued with quality concerns (at least here on this side of the
> globe).
>
> What am I trying to say? I think a comparable FOSS solution will probably
> cost as much as 500k because you would want to pay for quality support
> (probably from the core developers), but benefit from "free" services from
> the community such as test creation, debugging, minor enhancements, etc.
> Plus of course, full control of source code by the client.
>
> My two cents...
>
> alvin
>
>
>
> On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 1:02 AM, Mark Spohr <mhspohr@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> Thanks very much for these references.  The organization is similar to IRC
>> and knows people in IRC so should be able to contact them for details.
>> It's interesting that I still get resistance when I recommend open source
>> software.  They seem more comfortable with the financial package that they
>> just spent $500,000 on (and it's still not running well after two years).
>>
>> I will keep up the good fight.
>>
>> Kind regards,
>> Mark
>>
>> On Wed, Jun 29, 2011 at 1:12 PM, jason.p.pickering@xxxxxxxxx <
>> jason.p.pickering@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>> Although in the very early stages of deployment, PATH is using (in
>>> Zambia) and planning to use DHIS in several other countries in support of
>>> malaria surveillance.
>>>
>>> Sent from my HTC
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Reply message -----
>>> From: "Knut Staring" <knutst@xxxxxxxxx>
>>> Date: Wed, Jun 29, 2011 13:28
>>> Subject: [Dhis2-users] DHIS use by international NGO?
>>> To: <mhspohr@xxxxxxxxx>
>>> Cc: <dhis2-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi Mark,
>>>
>>> Interesting. IRC is using it across countries, in fact I am hosting it
>>> for
>>> them on a virtual server.
>>>
>>> Regards, Knut (via mobile phone)
>>> On Jun 29, 2011 6:38 PM, "Mark Spohr" <mhspohr@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>> > A international NGO is looking for a system collect and manage data
>>> from
>>> > programs in 8 countries.
>>> > I think that DHIS should work well for them.
>>> > Does anyone know of an organization using DHIS across countries?
>>> >
>>> > --
>>> > Mark Spohr, MD
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Mark Spohr, MD
>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> Alvin B. Marcelo, MD, FPCS
> www.alvinmarcelo.com
> Voicemail: +1-301-534-0795)
> GPG 0x99CBC54C
>
>
>


-- 
Mark Spohr, MD