Long-term partners, by choice.
Our oldest client has run on iDempiere with us since 2014. They could have left at any point, and that's exactly how we want it.
Open source is supposed to mean freedom. In practice, plenty of companies running an open-source ERP are just as stuck as if they'd bought SAP. The license is fine. What keeps them stuck is the way the system was built around them.
How can you be locked in to open-source software?
The license gives you the right to the code. Actually using that right is another matter. Lock-in usually looks like this:
- Customisations written straight into the core, so every upgrade needs the same people to redo them.
- Custom code nobody else has seen, and no documentation for it.
- Administrator access to your own ERP, or your data, sitting with the implementer instead of with you.
- Configuration decisions that only exist in one consultant's head.
- A contract that makes leaving expensive, even though the software is free.
Not all of this is deliberate. Some of it just happens when nobody writes things down. But the effect is the same: you can switch providers on paper and not in practice. Some of our clients came to us from exactly that situation.
Locked in, or partners by choice
What we promise instead
We want clients who stay for years, and we'd rather earn that than enforce it. So we make a few things non-negotiable:
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You own everything.
Your data, every line of code we write for you, and the documentation that goes with it.
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We build on standard iDempiere.
When something belongs in the core, it goes through the project's own review process and into the official release. Everything else is a plugin, never a change buried in the core.
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You're the administrator of your ERP.
Full admin rights to your own system, not a restricted user account while we hold the real keys.
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We're happy to run it for you.
Many clients prefer us to host and maintain their system, and we do that gladly. Hosting with us never means we hold your system hostage: you keep full admin rights to your ERP and can request a complete export of your data whenever you need it. Our servers are shared infrastructure, so access to them stays with us. That's how we protect every client's data, including yours.
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It's written down.
Configuration and custom work are documented well enough that another competent iDempiere team could take over.
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If you want to move on, we'll help.
We hand over properly. No lock-in, not even to us.
Why promise this at all?
Because a relationship held together by switching costs isn't worth much. If leaving is easy, the only reason to stay is that the work is good, and we'd rather be judged on that. So far it has worked: most of our clients have been with us for years.
Stuck with your current provider?
If your iDempiere installation is hard to upgrade, badly documented or controlled by someone else, we can look at it and tell you plainly what it would take to get it back under your control. No obligation to move anything to us.
Common questions
Is iDempiere really free?
The software is. There's no license fee per user or per module. What you pay for is implementation, support and development work, and that's where lock-in usually hides.
Can we move our existing iDempiere system to you?
Usually, yes. How easy it is depends on how the system was built. We'll assess it first and tell you honestly.
What happens to our data if we stop working with you?
It stays yours. You get a complete export of your data, along with your code and documentation. Nothing is held back.
If you host our system, do we get access to your servers?
No. Our hosting runs on shared infrastructure, and keeping server access with us is how we protect every client's data. You get full administrator rights to your own ERP and a complete export of your data on request. If you prefer a dedicated server, we can set one up for you, and then full access to it is yours.
Do we have to host with you?
No. We can run it for you, or support an installation on your own servers or cloud. See how we deliver.
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