There are three options for the way Git Winch can be put to use in your office. Normally, we offer only Option 1 through our websites. For the other two, you would need to email us at admin@gitwinch.com and setup a calendar appointment with us. We offer those two options only during special events and private demos.

Think of this as renting a ready-to-use office where we handle everything! With this setup, we take care of all the heavy lifting. Here’s where the pieces live:

• Coordination Server: This is the brain that keeps track of your files, tasks, and notes — it’s hosted on our servers, so we manage it for you.

• Git Hosting: This is where your files are stored and versioned. Git Winch connects to a Git hosting provider like GitHub or GitLab or Gitea. The creator of the repositories in your office will have to get an account there. Two of them (Gitlab and Github) have quite generous free accounts too.

• Application: The Git Winch desktop client (your tool for managing files) and Chrome web-app (for tasks) run on your computer and browser, while we keep the coordination server humming.

Payments:
In this option, you would have to pay as you go — just buy credits as you need them for the functionality you wish to use — perfect if you want to jump in without any setup hassle. You can buy credits and transfer them to your workers too.

Advantages:
This is the easiest option to use. You can get going literally in 10 minutes or so. Also, one major advantage of this method, is that you are also enrolled into our excellent Gig Winch freelancing system. So you can use our pool of remote-workers and make people you choose there as part of your own teams. You can easily purchase credits and transfer them to your office workers too.

NOTE
If your office got going with this option, you cannot easily migrate your office to other options. If a lot of Kanban cards were already being used in your office via this option, you would lose all of them if you later decided to migrate to one of the other options.

This is like having your own branded office suite in our building! We still run the show, but it feels personal to your team. Here’s the layout:

• Coordination Server: Still on our servers, managed by us, keeping everything organized for you.

• Git Hosting: Your files live in your chosen Git repository host such as GitHub or GitLab or Gitea.

• Application: The desktop client and Chrome app window stay on your devices, while we handle the server side with your custom branding.

Pre-requisites:
There are no pre-requisites other than coordinating with us on our calendar to setup this option. In this option, you will have to enroll your own office workers as your setup would not be connected to our Gig Winch system.

Payments:
This option comes with a one-time payment, so no recurring bills from us — perfect for a polished team look with a single upfront cost.

Advantages:
You and your office teams work within your own brand, with your own people. The advantage of this option is that you can easily migrate to Option 3 (described below) later on.

Imagine this as renting your own private office in the cloud. You need to buy a VPS or dedicated cloud server of your own. You’re in charge of the space, and we give you the tools to make it work.

Here’s how it breaks down:

• Coordination Server: This lives on your own cloud server setup, so you manage it with the software we provide.

• Git Hosting: You can either use a Git provider like GitHub or GitLab, or self-host Git using a Gitea or your own GitLab Community Edition instance — giving you full control over your file storage. You can also instruct us to install one of those two Git hosts at your own cloud server.

• Application: The desktop Git Winch client and Chrome app window run on your devices, connecting to your cloud-based Coordination Server.

Pre-requisites:
As mentioned above, you would need to buy/lease your own cloud server. Also, you have to sign an NDA with us. You will also have to give us root access to your cloud server, so that we can install the coordination server code on it. That would take one day (decided mutually via a calendar appointment with us)

In this option too, you will have to enroll your own office workers as your setup would NOT be connected to our Gig Winch system.

Payments:
You pay us a one-time fee to use this. There could be some additional setup costs, depending on the complexity of your cloud server and/or if you want us to install either Gitlab Community Edition or Gitea. Others costs for your chosen cloud server provider, etc. would be borne separately by you.

Advantages:
This option gives you the maximum privacy for your office. Not only your office works entirely with your own brand under your own full control, your files can also be placed on your own cloud server. So you are not restricted by the limitations of external Git hosting.

Each of the aforesaid models puts the Coordination Server, Git implementation, and application in the right manner to keep your team working smoothly. At our website we have only given one option (the first pay-as-you-go). Please contact us at admin@gitwinch.com if you want either of the other two options.

Important: In all the 3 systems explained above, the owner of the repositories used in the office needs to have an account with the Git Host provider, but no one else does. Everyone else can use Git Winch without signing up anywhere else. This is true even if you are your own Git Host provider (i.e. you used the installable self-hosted version of Gitea or Gitlab on your own server)

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