Presentation given at the DMPonline 10 year anniversary week, reflecting on lessons learned developing the business model. See https://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/dmponline-10th-year-anniversary-celebration-week and #10yearsDMPonline
1. Clients and accelerating:
10 years, 10 lessons
Sarah Jones
GÉANT (officially), DCC (in <3 still)
sarah.jones@geant.org
Twitter: @sarahroams
DMPonline 10th year anniversary celebration week, 16– 20 November 2020
https://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/dmponline-10th-year-anniversary-celebration-week
3. The prospect…
• Sudden removal of core funding
• Active service with growing user base
• Need to start charging to cover maintenance cost
• People are used to getting it for free
• What does this even cost to run?
• Argh!
5. Be true to yourself
• It mattered that our codebase remained Open
• Didn’t want to sell out / spin out
• We wanted free access to the tool where possible
• Led to freemium model
7. Things take time!
• It took years to figure out what to charge and how
• Told people it was coming but unsure when
• Lots of additional work (contracts, SLA, processes…)
Double/treble any estimate and don’t beat yourself
up about not getting stuff done!
9. Finger in the air time
• Mentioned price range and checked gut reactions
• Spoke to some individuals to understand position
• Loose ‘market research’
10. Just do it!
Image by Glodi Miessi https://unsplash.com/photos/ushzBuB_OYY
11. What’s the worst that can happen?
• Some upset customers, but…
• 0-60 in a matter of months
• Break neck acceleration
19. Machine-actionable DMPs
• Better reuse of content
• More intuitive / customised
• Tailored recommendations and help
• Derive more value for researchers, funders, unis
20. Above all – enjoy the ride!
Image courtesy of DCC https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalcurationcentre/32991485032