Axero President and Co-founder, Tim Eisenhauer, is featured in Young Upstarts – Is Free Intranet Software Really Free?
Is Free Intranet Software Really Free?
It’s a well known adage in economics that “there is no such thing as a free lunch,” meaning nothing is really free.
The saying dates back to the tradition of saloons offering “free lunch” to patrons who ordered a drink. The promise of free lunch lured people in, but the foods were so salty that they bought hefty amounts of beer to wash their meal down. The saloons ended up making more money. The lunch was not free, but the cost was hidden.
This concept is extremely relevant and important to understand today in a world where large numbers of businesses proclaim to peddle their software products for free. Free app downloads. Free trials. Free base level memberships. These models are not as consumer-friendly or cost-effective as they seem. Take intranet software. There are many free options out there that may seem like a good idea at first, but the issues that come with them cause more headaches and costs down the road. In the end, they are far from free.
Here are a few reasons why free software won’t do your business any favors:
