Projects

Recently, Altamente was hired by Ciencia Puerto Rico as the technology solutions provider and consultant responsible for migrating a five year old social media platform in active use by over 5,000 scientists to a new more robust version. Ciencia Puerto Rico (CienciaPR) is a nonprofit organization composed of scientists, professionals, students and citizens committed to promoting science, research and science education in Puerto Rico.

Ciencia Puerto Rico was founded in 2004 by several Puerto Rican PhD students studying and working in various states. Their initial goal was to connect people working or studying science that had a connection to Puerto Rico as a topic or as a place of ethnic identity or origin, thus facilitating the sharing of information and facilitating mentorship opportunities. The original social platform Ciencia Puerto Rico ran on a legacy site ran on a web page publishing system that was developed in-house. As is typical after a few years, a small team finds it a challenge to maintain and add features. As such, it suffers what we refer to as bit rot, the tendency of legacy systems to become less and less functional over time. However, Cienciapr.org has developed an enormous amount of content in this legacy system and any change requires that all its user profile information, accounts, and posts continue to be available.

The new version of Cienciapr.org was required to include existing historic content, users, and user profiles to a new, stable, mature OpenSource (Software Libre) CMS with easy to use publishing tools, a flexible programming environment to extend capability, and key community features to aid its network of scientists in the promotion of the sciences in Puerto Rico. For this task, Altamente implemented and configured Drupal CMS using both MySQL and PostgreSQL databases. The task was completed within the three months period proposed, with additional training and support extending the engagement for nearly 6 months.

New features addded to the site included:

• search engine optimization, as well as
• improved onsite  searches for member and content
• broader integration of multimedia content,
• a mobile optimized theme,
• integration of calendaring, webforms and more robust forums, and
• a custom developed Google API tool for the display of scientists with different expertise. You can find visit

Upon completion, Altamente has remained a trusted partner and volunteer serving CienciaPR as advisor and supplier. Members of this science community have now grown, nearly doubling in size in less than a year.

Here at Altamente we have a long standing commitment to advancing the social and economic welfare of our community.  Since the Puerto Rico Products Association has been our client since 2002, we saw an opportunity to combine its growth in the Internet with public service.  After their site launched it became apparent that it had quickly become the primary link in Internet searches looking for Puerto Rico + Products. We informed the Association that their site's google performance was an enviable starting point for answering the question: What are those products and services made in Puerto Rico?

The Association had been exploring new ways to drive exports, but they were not alone. The government's Commerce and Export Company had also drawn as its top priority growing the local economy through increased exports. The challenge faced by both entities was drumming up excitement and investment abroad amidst a sluggish economy.

Altamente donated its time and effort developing a three phase institutional project for its client. The project, Bridging the Globe, is designed to increase export activity and as a result grow the local economy. The first stage proposed was a marketing campaign designed to improve the local market conditions.

The campaign gave a call to action for individual consumers to become agents of economic development. "Busca el sello...invierte en tí" ("Look for the seal...invest in yourelf") was the slogan crafted and communicated through traditional and non-traditional media. The ads went on to explain how purchasing local products and services has a very real impact in a person's surroundings. For every dollar spent on a local product or service 70 cents stay on the Island, helping generate jobs and spurring investment in local infrastructure.

Click here to see the ad run by Altamente in support of the "Busca el Sello" Campaign.

Just today, more than a year after the campaign started I saw the campaign slogan decorating the back of a delivery truck. The campaign met its core objectives: to re-energize local companies through. According to figures shared by Sam's, Wal-mart and Amigo Supermarkets, compared to the same time in 2006, sales for products identified as Made in Puerto Rico grew 8%. Amidst a recession the numbers show that a renewed sense of purpose-driven purchasing took hold.

Now we are proud to announce that with the support of Sacred Heart University we have begun to work on a directory of products and services Made in Puerto Rico. Once again, Altamente will put forth the general strategy, project management and technology. Sacred Heart University in its renewed commitment to entrepreneurism and innovation will be engaging students in the many facets of successfully promoting local Puerto Rican products and services on the Internet. Stay tuned for updates on this project come Fall.