Quote:

Currently we only give support and upgrades to those that invest in a yearly support/maintenance agreement. The problem is that, without that extra income, can we afford to keep on the support and development staff?




you can't give everything away. Something has to be sold to get new money. Consider the way oldtime razors were marketed: They practically gave away the razors, but you still had to buy the proprietary blades that fit them.

Based on that model, you give away the delivery system, and sell the perishable commodity. The core program is the delivery system. Anything that supplements it or makes it more useful generates desire and therefore can be sold. After somebody uses a certain real track, he wants another one for the next project. In that sense, the real tracks are the perishable commodity (the blades that go in the razor)