Open source portal lets Goodwill CIO help those in need

Anon writes “Goodwill Industries International is an organization on a mission to help people in need.

For more than 100 years, this Rockville, Md.-based nonprofit has provided education, training and career services for those on welfare, people with substance abuse problems, the homeless and others.

But when its antiquated Web site began to slow operations, Goodwill was unable to help itself. It was an unacceptable situation in an international organization that just last year provided more than 72,000 individuals with employment and training.

It was the kind of problem that every CIO dreads. There was a massive need for overhauls in Web site performance, but there was little IT funding to work with due to the nonprofit nature of the organization.

It was the kind of problem that Liferay, an open source portal company from Los Angeles, would eventually solve with help from the open source community and Goodwill itself.”