Is it worth changing to the open software model (in terms of SaaS)?
Szczepan Serwatka
8 replies
Open software model - pros & cons?
I find that many proposals refer to open software. I've got loads of questions about the viability of the model, but these are key ones from my perspective:
- Where to start?
- How to do it right?
- What to watch out for?
For whom is this model ideal/definitely not an option?
Replies
Eugene Hauptmann@eugenehp
LLC Toolkit
I started doing open source because of RedHat's inspiration back in the days.
Today I love these hybrid models of open-source and business on top of it:
- gatsbyjs.com
- vercel.com
- serverless.com
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@eugenehp Just the mention of RedHat brings me nostalgic memories of me installing the RedHat v5 on a 2 GB HDD. Good old days for sure. Interest in open source and usage of such useful ones have very much benefited me as an individual user and I truly think this can benefit organizations as well.
I am not sure my advice would be so helpful here but I did it the other way around: having an open source product and then after the product had gained a lot of traction try to build a Saas product around it to monetize it. In my case I provided a "dashboard" that helps the users of my open source library to get better insights in how it is working, and I also provide hosting although this is not required in order to use the dashboard.
- Where to start?
In my case I just created a library that became very successful after putting an insane amount of work on it and promoting it on the right channels.
- How to do it right?
The most important pieces to succeed with an open source project are in my opinion: provide as good documentation as you possibly can and then a bit more, and be very responsive fixing bugs, and giving support to your users (it takes a LOT of time).
Interestingly I do not open-source the dashboard itself, that is closed software. My rationale here is that my product is very niched and if I also open sourced the dashboard I would cannibalise my own customers...
if you are curious, this is the product I am talking about: https://taskforce.sh
@manuel_astudillo Nicely said Manual. The initial visibility it brings to your core services is absolutely huge. Adding to that, it also gives us a bit of traction in the market and trust factors go up which are again big in my humble opinion.
LLC Toolkit
@manuel_astudillo 💯on the time commitment. Also while it is open-source, it is still a product. And it has to deliver, whatever value user expects to get out of it.
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