MaxServ Leverages the Roadmap with a TYPO3 GmbH Partnership

Thanks to Jam from OSP for sharing!

We sat down with Ronald Meeuwissen (Account Manager) and Richard Haeser (Development Lead) from MaxServ in their offices in The Netherlands. They shared with us how being an official TYPO3 GmbH partner gives them a roadmap which benefits their agency, their clients, and the TYPO3 CMS ecosystem as a whole.

MaxServ is a full-service TYPO3 agency (at Solution tier), and TYPO3 gold member. They are based in the Netherlands and have been involved with the TYPO3 community for many years.

TYPO3 GmbH offers products and services tailored to support professional agencies like MaxServ and enhance the success of the TYPO3 Project, including an official partner program.

The concept of the TYPO3 GmbH partner program offering a roadmap for MaxServ came up early on and was a continuing theme in our discussion. When talking about the partnership, Ronald and Richard outlined the main benefits of the partnership as:

• Access to information

• Access to people

• Closeness to the TYPO3 CMS

One of the features of the partnership program is regular partner meetings conducted either in-person or via webinars. This is how partners get informed about the latest developments, find out what is happening, and network with other partners. For MaxServ, this access translates into a roadmap which facilitates planning, decision-making, and certainty—ultimately leading to sales opportunities, including access to pre-qualified leads. 

Another aspect of the partnership program is that partners are encouraged to increase their event participation. By taking part in events such as Marketing Sprints, Review Fridays, and In-Sprint Reviews, MaxServ gets access to important information. “That’s the most valuable thing,” Richard explains, “so we can make decisions early.” 

Ronald went on to explain that insight into “the roadmap also gives us the certainty that a product we implement today is still up and running for the next six years. And that, sales-wise, is a very, very positive thing.” Combined with ELTS (Extended Long Term Support available from TYPO3 GmbH) “There's no other open source project which can guarantee us exactly that.” 

Ronald told us being part of community activities like a recent Marketing Sprint helps them help their customers. “During the sprint, we discussed the TYPO3 product roadmap. And that's very beneficial to planning ahead, to plan maintenance cycles, and to help our customers future-proof their platform.”

I asked if having that insight helps MaxServ plan client projects years in advance. Richard agreed “Definitely. This is our calendar. We know when we have to upgrade.” 

Partners gain exclusive early access to new products that TYPO3 GmbH develops, like the TYPO3 Google Ads Integration Beta Program. They provide valuable feedback and this also gives them an idea of what is coming next. Having insight into the TYPO3 GmbH product roadmap helps agencies like MaxServ plan better, too. Taking part in Review Friday, Richard told us “We get technical information I can use to help make decisions for clients. So I can advise Ronald, for example, 'don't sell this' or 'you don't have to spend a lot of time on that,’ and it's easier to get that information because people are more accessible during these kinds of events.”

As part of the Partner Program, partners can enhance their offerings with TYPO3 GmbH products and services such as SLAs, Extended Support, and Project Reviews. These services were developed to help partners scale their businesses, as well as generate revenue. The services give clients peace of mind without burdening growing digital agencies with needing to provide 24/7 support. This gives partners more time and capacity to take on new business. 

Richard liked the idea of a Project Review to ensure quality, but it didn’t suit their workflow. “We always had this problem: We really wanted project reviews but doing reviews at the end of a project wasn’t feasible.” The partnership program gives MaxServ access to In-Sprint Project Reviews, which means that “during the project, we can just ask the TYPO3 team to review a part of a project rather than a complete project.” 

Ronald explained how In-Sprint Project Reviews work from the earliest stages. “Maybe after your basic setup, say after three sprints, they check on your starting point, whether it's good and it's efficient. They also check at the architecture level as well. Then you know you're good to go to finish the project.” They get feedback while work is ongoing, and they can continue to improve as they go, saving time in the end.

On an essential level, the partnership fees agencies invest help the GmbH invest in improving TYPO3 by funding core development, running sprints, and developing industry partnerships which in turn improves TYPO3 for all. The partnership program helps TYPO3 in other ways, too, including encouraging members to take a more active role in the community.  

The partnership program is such a positive experience that it makes partners want to give back to the TYPO3 Project open source community. Because of the help and support they get, Richard told us that MaxServ has started to get more involved in contribution."With the GmbH it is so much easier for us to get in contact with people that can help you. Because of that, we are doing more community stuff now.” Ronald agreed, “We get more involved, more actively contributing as well because we know where to go, where to find stuff, and also what's needed and what's being planned.”

This means that high-quality contributors are giving back more to the community and building a stronger ecosystem. They feel more invested in its success and are even more motivated to see it succeed and thrive.

If you are thinking about joining the TYPO3 GmbH partnership program, the TYPO3 GmbH services offer a great return on investment. Information sharing creates a transparent ecosystem giving you a clear roadmap and competitive edge.

TYPO3 GmbH is a unique selling point for the TYPO3 Platform. There’s nothing else like it out there, become a part of it.