Question

A small company has developed a specialized software product that it configures especially for each customer. New customers usually have specific requirements to be incorporated into their system, and they pay for these to be developed and integrated with the product. The software company has an opportunity to bid for a new contract, which would more than double its customer base. The new customer wishes to have some involvement in the configuration of the system. Explain why, in these circumstances, it might be a good idea for the company owning the software to make it open source

Answer 1

It might be a good idea for the company to make the software open source because it will lead to reduction of cost of production and the effort that goes into it. The task of customizing the software for each individual customers raises development cost and is a tough task to accomplish.

In term of making the software an open source, the source code will be provided to the customer and they themselves can make the desired changes in the software. This will considerably reduce their prices and also expand their market in the areas of companies with lower budgets.