The consortium will offer technical support services on the fee schedule shown in the table below. Revenue from services such as new collection setup, interface and report customization, data management, custom programming, web hosting, and software installation, will be an essential part of the Consortium’s business model. We will adjust and titrate fees for services based on member status and specific needs. Both Specify 6 (thick client) and Specify 7 (web browser app) will continue to be supported with the services below. The internet migration toward cloud hosting and browser-bases web apps and away from locally installed servers and software is inexorably proceeding. For that reason, we will concentrate future innovation in the Specify 7 web platform. Web hosting of collections databases as with the Specify Cloud service relieves institutions of the salaries and other costs associated with hardware, systems, and security management. Cloud hosted collections databases are accessible anywhere and ideal for collaborative work, and for databases that cross institutional boundaries.

Many of the services shown represent one-time costs associated with the installation of a new Specify database, its customization, and the migration of legacy data. The consortium will offer workshops, video tutorials, and webcasts as training services. The Consortium’s web site blogs and forums, and help desk will continue to respond daily to data management and software issues as they arise.

Technical Liaisons at member institutions will play vital roles as intermediaries for technical issues requiring local attention and on-site management. Their role has been invaluable with the successful adoption of Specify at institutions in the U.S. and in several other countries, notably in South Africa, Denmark, Portugal, Brazil and Australia.