Kaivo specializes in three practice areas that help companies and organizations realize the benefits of Open Source technology. Our development and integration services take advantage of existing Open Source tools to build high end, low cost web-based systems. Our Open Source training services help organizations understand and use Open Source desktop and productivity tools. Our Open Source consultancy services help technology companies develop an Open Source strategy around their own technology platform.

System Development and Integration

Our highly-skilled engineers have extensive experience implementing enterprise-caliber technology solutions for small, mid-size and large businesses and government agencies, including American Airlines, Bell Labs, Weight Watchers Franchisee Association, the U.S. Army, and many others. With experience in a wide variety of development methodologies - from the traditional waterfall to RAD and spiral models - we are able to properly match the methodology to the business requirements at hand.

For many web-based development projects today, the recommended approach frequently involves rapid prototyping of features and functions followed by iterative design and development. We have found through years of experience that the iterative approach (embodied in the oft-quoted maxim from the Open Source community: "release early and release often") is particularly well-suited to the increased pressures and abbreviated timeframes of today's internet economy.

Kaivo has been a champion of the prototyping methodology for over a decade, and we are constantly in search of the best tools and techniques by which to rapidly drive out requirements and interface issues, allowing us to build sophisticated application software which allows our customers to realize the benefits of the powerful Open Platform Technologies we utilize.

Open Source Training

Many organizations are seeing the value in migrating their desktop and productivity applications to Open Source platforms. With nearly two decades of experience in training development and delivery for Open Systems (Unix) and Open Source (Linux) systems, Kaivo can help your organization understand the value of Open Source platforms, including cost and stability advantages. We also provide user training in the latest and greatest Open Source applications and developer/infrastructure tools, such as Open Office, Ximian Evolution, Mozilla, Samba, Apache and PHP.

Open Source Strategy Development

Many technology companies (or in-house application development groups) are rightly considering to what degree they need to maintain proprietary licensing restrictions around their source code, and how Open Sourcing all or part of their code might spur adoption of their platforms by contributing to a growing development community eager to use and build on free, open technologies.

Kaivo executive consultants bring years of experience working with technology companies in the Open Source world to answer the key questions for any organization considering Open Sourcing their platform or application code. We work directly with our client executive staff, board of directors, technology leaders and business partners to identify issues and develop a roadmap for execution of an Open Source strategy that supports the organization's fundamental business objectives.