WhereGroup

Free Software licenses are not anti-business and commercial activities with Open Source Software are abundant. Both Free Software and Open Source provide a stable foundation for business models focused on an abstract good: Software can by nature bypass traditional product market mechanisms (physical goods) where supply and demand regulate the price because software is not a physical good. Software is a discarnate virtual good that can be duplicated losslessly and arbitrarily at practically no cost.

On this page we outline a number of commercially viable business areas that in many cases provide a livelihood for Open Source developers and is funded by the greater community of folks who use it.

Consultancy

High quality consultancy needs to be based on experience and on an excellent understanding of the market, user requirements and technology. It should address all stages of project planning, starting with requirements and capabilities analysis, developing concepts and supporting project management.

These qualifications come with a price tag, but will help you to better understand your real needs, and also your potential. And it will help you to make your investment go further into a more sustainable solution.

Growing interest by proprietary software vendors who want to discover and potentially embrace the Free Software concept for themselves open up a new market for business consultancy.

Installation

Whilst mere installation of software packages is typically not an issue with growing complexity of solutions this can become a market demand. Services can range from installation of patches or updates as needed to full installation services for a turn-key solution.

One thing which should always be provided is full and transparent documentation to enable others to carry on when needed. Again, this protects your investment!

Training

Free Software, like any other, requires training to be used properly. Thus training courses and workshops can be offered in the same manner as with proprietary software. This ranges from end user training on handling a particular solution to technology workshops for decision makers, blending over more or less seamlessly into individual consulting services.

What may set a training session apart from those on proprietary software, is that some or all of the training material has been created by the Open Source community, so that the same rules apply for its use and distribution. Since the community itself is not organized in a commercial way, the efforts are often honored by donations. The proceedings from training are shared with umbrella organizations to support further development.

Support and Maintenance

Support usually includes troubleshooting, bug fixes or implementation of smaller change requests. Support can be provided by phone or e-mail exchanges, companies offering support advertize their expertize with their references. In the Free Software model the expertise matters, not software vendor certificates.

Specialized companies offer SLA (Service Level Agreements) for selected components and individual needs.

Software Development

To address specific requirements, the development of new software components or substantial extensions to existing ones may be required. Depending on the chosen license type, extent of the requirement and relevance for the community, there may be an option to obtain sponsorship for such developments.

In any case it is recommended to feed back development into the software base, so that changes become integrated and thus secure your investment in the long term. It should also be noted that programming can be done by any capable developer, so that you are not tied to a single company for these services.