I have a friend that works for a fairly small company that is becoming inundated with support calls. I suggested he looks at software to handle issue tracking, support, and bug tracking – but fell short when it came to looking at Sourceforge. When I delved further into his requirements, my friend says he needs a fair level of automation involved – I’m guessing like a client help desk. What open source initiatives are being used. State reasons for use (ie: features, ease of installation etc).

Businesses worldwide support worthy causes as a means of marketing.  The challenge is to draw attention, ensuring a captive audience.  It is no longer about making a mediocre social impact or simply to get into the newspaper for free...  you have to stun and engage.  The key to success is to get people talking about your company and to involve your community.  Thereby establishing a long term relationship that is beneficial to the business, the target market and the charity chosen.