Why do companies develop free softwares
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M$2 Answers
With individuals, or groups of people working in their spare time...
- They find it fun to write software, it's their hobby.
- They believe they are making a worthwhile contribution to the world
- They use free software themselves, and want to help make free alternatives to paid software
- Their work shows off their skills and can lead to earning opportunities
These reasons apply to many things like Wordpess and arguably Linux.
With non-profit orgs, like universities and foundations...
- It is part of their mission
- In those fields people get credit for making some great, e.g. become famous in their field
These reasons arguably apply to things like Firefox, some versions of Unix, and things like the chess program Crafty.
Usually the individuals involved are also motivated by similar reasons to hobbyists as well. e.g. They enjoy making the software, as well as the fact they work in a university Computer Science department and get paid to do it.
With for-profit companies, the reasons are often things like:
- They make free and paid versions, and make money from the paid ones.
- Free versions are like their advertising or a try-before-you-buy option that helps sales
- They can make ad revenues from their software
- They offer software free but make money from services, like tech support for companies that use it
- They want the software to become a standard, and it is part of commecial strategy, maybe to contain a rival company whose offerings might otherwise dominate the market.
Examples of these could include MySQL, Gmail and Java.
So you see, there are lot of reasons to make free things!
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
I think this is a really good answer. There is a famous book called The Cathedral and the Bazaar about Free Software.