Customized Support for Unique Needs: caBIG® Support Service Providers
A key benefit of caBIG® tools and infrastructure is the freedom to match what caBIG® has to offer with each organization's specific needs and resources. This freedom includes choosing relevant support services offered through caBIG®.
While some organizations prefer to take advantage of caBIG® web-based support services (including the caBIG® community website, the caBIG® Knowledge Centers, and Applications Support), others prefer a more customized support approach.
For example, an organization introducing caBIG® may want a training program specifically designed for its internal end users, or a piece of caBIG® software tailored to fit an organization's specific business process. Perhaps an organization wants a dedicated help desk to serve immediate caBIG® questions, or in-depth mentoring of your technical teams to speed a deployment effort.
The caBIG® Support Service Providers (SSPs) provide this customized option.
SSPs are organizations that have successfully demonstrated the technical capabilities, staffing and scalability, geographic coverage (when applicable), and the domain expertise in biomedicine to effectively serve caBIG® customers.
SSPs that have gone through this evaluation process—based on well-defined and published criteria—and that have negotiated a license with NCI are called "licensed Support Service Providers."
SSPs may be licensed in:
- Help Desk Support
- Adaptation and Enhancement of caBIG®-compatible Applications
- Deployment Support for caBIG® Software Applications
- Documentation and Training Materials and Services
SSPs contract directly with their customers to provide specific caBIG®-related services in these categories, customized to the client's needs.
The business arrangement between a specific SSP and a specific customer is negotiated between the provider and customer only; NCI is not involved in this process. NCI's role is to qualify SSPs, and to help ensure proper uses of the caBIG® trademark.
Applications to become a SSP are reviewed quarterly by the caBIG® team, resulting in a growing list of organizations that may be able to provide the services you need in connecting with caBIG®. caBIG® has prepared a matrix to provide a snapshot of the tools and services that current SSPs provide. See this summary, and browse SSP websites in each of the service categories above at the following webpage: https://cabig.nci.nih.gov/esn/service_providers
