This session is meant to be an informal discussion focused on the business impacts of Drupal for development firms. We'd love to have an open and frank dialog around these topics and really want to learn from other Drupal folks... interested in joining us... let us know...

With the explosion of Drupal in recent years, it is as important to discuss the methods and benefits of Drupal from a business perspective. This session will serve to educate Drupal developers and businesses alike on the tangible returns a platform like Drupal can offer.
Agenda

Educating your clients on the Drupal platform.
Discussing the tangible benefits of the platform.
o How sponsoring module development can spur long run financial returns.
o How contributing to a community can benefit your product.
-- More eyes on your code for testing. No cost QA and usability testing.
-- Secure code being managed by the community.
o Constant Security Updates
Crisis Management
o What to do when your developer jumps ship. How to continue doing business with no crisis.
Presenting more accurate estimates and timely deliverables. On budget and on track development more likely than with a custom solution.
Avoiding Prototype Panic
Real Cost Savings
o Specifications
o Development Time
o Upgrades
Access to Support and Maintenance Channels
Goals

By the close of this session, attendees should have a working grasp of the business toolkit and language needed to present Drupal as a viable solution to their clients. They will also be able to explain the value add services of the platform.
Resources

• Permissions API (http://drupal.org/project/permissions_api)
• Deploy (http://drupal.org/project/deploy)
• Services (http://drupal.org/project/services)
• Drush (http://drupal.org/project/drush)
Speakers

Ben Bassi
Ben Bassi, founder and CEO of CommonPlaces, is a seasoned Internet veteran and marketing executive. As the Chief Operating Officer of the Firefly Network, the Web's first personalized community, he led the company’s efforts in developing e-business and privacy solutions for companies like Barnes & Noble, Cendant, MasterCard, Marriott, Proctor & Gamble, and Yahoo! During this time, Bassi also helped to pioneer Internet privacy standards while working with the Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft, and Netscape.

As one of the first business executives of Lycos, Bassi was responsible for creating many of the first portal traffic agreements in the industry, and licensing the Lycos portal technology to over 35 companies internationally, including GTE, Microsoft, Netscape, Time Warner and Viacom. Bassi also directed Lycos' joint venture with Bertelsmann, publishing over 50 Internet books. Prior to Lycos, Bassi was VP of North America at Object Design, ranked number one on 1994’s “INC. 500” List.

Kenny Silanskas
Kenny Silanskas has been working in the field of marketing and website development for over 8 years. He has been responsible for the development and deployment of e-commerce and content managed systems for nationally recognized organizations such as the American Polygraph Association.