How do you think people can make money from free software?
To answer this questions it helps to differ between the software model,the development model, and the business model (see Point 1: Think clearlyhttps://fsfe.org/freesoftware/enterprise/freesoftwarecompany.en.html).
With Free Software you can earn money, like with non-free software. The only exception is: you cannot sell licenses. That is not allowed by Free Software licenses. Beside that everything is possible: training, services, integration, custom development, subscription models, “Commercial Off The Shelve” (COTS), “Software as a Service” (SaaS) and more.
Do you think that there is a greater role for free software and Open source hardware?
Arduino and others have a lot of potential with free software. I wrote something about Arduino here:
https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201110.en.html.
What are examples of people who have built businesses on free software?
There are many examples. I just start with our donors
https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus.en.html:
- Linuxhotel: They offer all kind of professional Free Software
trainings.
- Intevation GmbH: They do only Free Software since the beginning. They
work on network security, e-mail server, e-mail encryption, groupware
and web development, GIS, databases, packaging of software and quality
management. Beside that they do strategic software consultancy.
- tarent: They make a lot of software for the public administration.
From Enterprise Middleware, Portale, IDM, process management, mobile
applications and specialised applications.
- g10code: they develop GnuPG, and do buisiness around crypto
technology.
- univention: groupware solutions, …
- Volker Dormeyer Systementwicklung: Solutions for load balancing,
network balancing, etc.
About Matthias Kirschner
Interview with Matthias Kirschner – Free Software Foundation Europe
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