Company Offers Free Help Desk Software to Open Source Projects

You know those little windows that pop up on some Web sites that allow you to connect instantly with a live customer service representative? Typically you find that type of service on Web sites built for big companies, but non-profit organizations can also benefit from the personal touch with patrons and potential donors. Unfortunately, the cost of help desk and live chat software can be prohibitive.

Live chat and CRM software vendor Kayako wants to help charitable foundations and open source software projects provide better customer service to users, so the company has announced it's offering free and unlimited licenses for all help desk software and add-ons to charities and teams developing open source software.

The software's retail licensing begins at $29.95 per month for unlimited users and can reach as high as $400 for hosted and supported options. Add on products for mobile devices, syncing, and instant alerts and prices can escalate quickly. All non-profit charitable organizations and open source software projects, however, are free to use the software and add-ons completely free of charge. Kayako will even throw in tech support and upgrades for a whole year. According to the agreement terms, organizations can keep the license forever.

Jamie Edwards, operations manager at Kayako, told ciol.com, "We have been helping organizations and teams cut their costs by making their customer service more efficient and enabling them to offer easy-to-use self-help resources to their own customers. We would hate to think that price is a barrier to entry for these organizations wanting and needing to cut down on their operating costs, which is why we are giving away our help desk software."