Is opportunity hidden in crisis?

Markets are stirring up trouble everywhere. Educational institutions have their own special torments to face down, not least of which was the near endgame play by Wachovia to restrict access by colleges and universities to their own cash parked in The Common Fund. Add the uncertainties of state budget cuts, tight credit for student loans, effects on donors' willingness to give, and the chilling effect of job uncertainty on student enrollment, you have a grim picture of the future (near term, at least) of the academy.

So, why make a point of this to the Plone community? At the risk of sounding morbid, I can feel an opportunity is hiding  in the smoke of this crisis. If ever there is motivation to stop paying exorbitant license fees for content management systems that have better alternatives like Plone, and a responsive support community, well folks, this absolutely is the time. Opportunistic? Yes, but saving money, modernizing business processes, and providing the web tools to engage users is the right thing to do for the institutions we love.

If you have been championing Plone to deaf ears, you might think of the recent credit and market meltdown as a kind of mental reboot. You may find that reception to proposals and white papers and other artifacts of academia to be a lot more positive. Face to face marketing will improve when it hears the tune of cost savings and efficiency improvements in such a hostile environment.

Plone for education is the right match for troubled times.