Developing Thoth’s “Software as a Service” Model | Community-led Open Publication Infrastructures for Monographs (COPIM)

Gatti, R., van Gerven Oei, V. W. J., & Snyder, L. O. (2022). Developing Thoth’s “Software as a Service” Model. Community-Led Open Publication Infrastructures for Monographs (COPIM). https://doi.org/10.21428/785a6451.8ffabe1b

One component of the Research England and Arcadia funded COPIM project (WP5) has been the development of an open source platform for the management and dissemination of open metadata called Thoth. Alongside the creation of Thoth’s open software, we have considered how best to ensure the financial sustainability of this initiative beyond the end of the funded COPIM project.  After developing some initial ideas about different approaches to a sustainable business model, we collaborated with Rob Johnson, Founder and Managing Director of Research Consulting, to help us assess the potential of our project and the different avenues toward long-term financial sustainability . WP5 held two internal workshops in January 2022 to scope out various value propositions for publishers and libraries, and to consider the costs/revenues associated with the possible free and paid services. We also continued to refine our business model in a workshop with a small number of scholar-led and new university presses on May 9th. After receiving feedback from the OA community, we have finalised a model, “Software as a Service.” This model is reminiscent of so-called “freemium” models often used for open-source software, in which core functionalities of a platform remain freely accessible, while extended functionality and personalized features are available at a cost. In this post we outline the Thoth’s Software as a Service business model. Specifically, this model includes  two services: Thoth Free, a metadata management service which will continue to be free of charge, and Thoth Plus, a curated metadata management and dissemination service for which fees will be charged.