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1. What are the different types of software customisations available?
- There are several types of customisations. There are standalone applications for example a program that every night copies data from a webserver into The Raiser's Edge without any user interaction. There are VBA applications; processes that react to events in The Raiser's Edge, e.g. ensure that certain attributes are always entered on saving a constituent. There are plug-ins. These are small standalone modules within The Raiser's Edge in the plug-ins area of the program. They can do almost anything a stand alone customisation can do but do require user interaction in order to start them. There are many free plug-ins available on our site .
2. Will I have to buy extra modules from Blackbaud and how much will they cost?
- It depends very much what you want to do. The VBA customisations will need the VBA module. The standalone customisations will require the API module. However plug-ins do not require any extra modules. You can find out more about the different areas at Blackbaud Inc or Blackbaud Europe. As for the cost, I believe the cost of these modules varies depending on the number of licenses you have. However I am not an authority on this and you would be advised to speak to your Raiser's Edge account manager.
3. In the past we have invested a large amount of money in a customisation only to find that whenever we want the smallest of changes to be made we have to go back to the original developer. We would probably have the skills in house to make small changes but are unable as we are not given the source code. Is this how you operate too?
- Unlike many developers when we develop a customisation specifically for your organisation we also supply you with the source code that is well documented. This means that if you have to make small changes to the code you are able to do so without having to call us back in.
4. I understand that you are based in the UK. Should I be concerned about that when I am based in another country? How do projects work at such distance?
- With today’s technology working remotely is no longer a big issue as it used to be. It is possible to share data and share information as easy as it would be if I was sitting in a nearby office. When we work on a remote project we ensure that we overlap the majority of the day with the client. This means that if you are on the west coast of America of Canada we will be available for questions from the start of your working day until about 3.30pm local time.
5. Will you always opt for a software customisation?
- No, there are some instances where creating a plug-in or standalone application would just be overkill. There are often ways around a problem that would avoid the extra cost. Sometimes this would involve exporting and importing data instead. Sometimes all that is required is a Crystal Report. In which case we would advise this type of solution.
