Re:Ask HN: Is it foolish to open source your SAAS business s...
by rakoo on Thursday January 29, 2015 @05:57PM
(#8969441)
Are you selling Service as a Service or Software as a Service ?
If you're selling Service, you're selling the infrastucture, the ease of use, the support, the knowledge in the domain, and the scale you have as being the original player gives you insight into the changes needed in the software. At this point the Software is only a tool for your business, but that's not what your clients want.
Maybe some people will use the Open Source version without paying you. Maybe they will install it for their pet project, or for a prototype at $dayjob. And maybe one day they will want to go in production, won't want to be hassled by all the sysadmin gory stuff associated with running their own machine, and will just come to you.
You have to remember that you're selling a service, competitors will come and challenge you whether they have your code or not. Make your service awesome, the people will still be coming for you.
If you're selling Service, you're selling the infrastucture, the ease of use, the support, the knowledge in the domain, and the scale you have as being the original player gives you insight into the changes needed in the software. At this point the Software is only a tool for your business, but that's not what your clients want.
Maybe some people will use the Open Source version without paying you. Maybe they will install it for their pet project, or for a prototype at $dayjob. And maybe one day they will want to go in production, won't want to be hassled by all the sysadmin gory stuff associated with running their own machine, and will just come to you.
You have to remember that you're selling a service, competitors will come and challenge you whether they have your code or not. Make your service awesome, the people will still be coming for you.