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LibreFarm Published as Free Software

Haroldo Stenger has published LibreFarm's source code in GXOpen. LibreFarm is a pharmacy management system developed with GeneXus, marketed since 1996 as proprietary software.

"The fact that LibreFarm is a program made with a productivity tool such as GeneXus, that has a license that promotes productivity -allowing many programmers to work on this- will be a great boost to this KB. This is my conviction," Stenger assures. However, he admits that this is a long-term project, "because it will take time to persuade people that this makes sense."

The decision that you have made is unusual in the business world. What did you assess in order to take this step?
It's not easy for a company to turn proprietary software into open source software. We are a small business and we measure risk accordingly. We know that nothing bad will happen to us if we decide to release the knowledge base (KB); on the contrary, our chances grow because more people will get to know the product. Capturing people's attention is in itself an added value for us. Besides, this crosses country borders very rapidly. It has already been downloaded in a number of countries and this has really shocked us, because it opens the doors for us to eventually partner with companies in other markets. This represents a potential increase in the number of programmers, without investment; programmers are self-sustaining and know why they contribute with LibreFarm. I am assuming risks, but these risks are being managed. I trust in the GeneXus community to respect the license and to feel motivated because this is a good project to work on. Actually, other programs for other kinds of business may stem from LibreFarm or the same program may be translated into other languages, all of which will have to be licensed as free software.

Why do you say that free software fosters productivity?
Software is inherently meant to be copied; you can make a thousand copies of a given piece of software and its quality will remain intact. This is a virtue not always shared by other products. Since software is subject to be copied, many people can invest time in studying and improving it, people who communicate with each other. In short, the fact that all these people have access to a copy of the same piece of software and improve it, gives programmers a great advantage over other kinds of professionals. Free software respects this nature and makes it possible for other programmers to work at a very low cost.
The software industry can work well based on free software, using a different model from the one prevailing nowadays. Actually, there are many companies who are currently doing that.
It is true that software engineering has some problems. There are widespread statistics showing that more than 60% of all software projects fail to meet deadlines and comply with the original budget. Free software will have an impact on system-design productivity. As a matter of fact, it is actually doing so, for instance, on the PostgreSQL database - supported by GeneXus. This database has an amazing design, many features, and has been made possible thanks to the use of free software. This kind of software will necessarily modify the development pace that has been in place so far. A trend known as extreme programming is another attempt to improve the quality of software development. This trend is applied to proprietary software and consists of making the whole source code available to all the programmers in a company. Business models are always changing; however, nobody is in a position to ensure the solution of all your problems. Free software is a way of working based on some certainties, which have to be explored in action in the business world. We know that outside of it, they work very well.

What are the changes brought about by the publication of the KB, from the point of view of your particular business?
The business remains the same: we have consulting clients, service clients. This kind of software allows us to provide service regardless of whether the program's source code has been released.

Do you mean that your business is not focused on the sale of the KB, but on related services?
Software companies make money from the services that they provide, not so much from licenses. We depend on value-added services, although this is hard to prove because nobody opens their books so easily. Warranties, telephone attention, visits, consulting, and training are all examples of this kind of service. Licenses generate income every now and then; however, the major contribution comes from monthly fees charged to clients for value-added services.
The crisis prevailing in the country (Uruguay) has also made sales go down, but we have mainly tried to focus on service. I'm sure that programmers get much more out of services related to the software that we build, than from chasing copyright violators. The pharmacy business is very dynamic, and conditions are constantly changing for my clients. For instance, nowadays they are going to go back to the "mutual" market. This is generating specific needs so they call me because they trust me. The fact that the source code is published now, does not affect the trusting relationship existing with my clients.

So you say: I have a client portfolio to which I'm connected through a trust-based relation, and they will keep turning to me.
Exactly. That is my hope. As a matter of fact, I do not think this will change things at all. I have asked some clients about this move, and the idea was welcome. Clients buy an operational KB, but they know that it will necessarily change. If it doesn't evolve, that means that something wrong is happening to that business. The publication of KBs adds more value for the customer. In the business world, all software companies owe something to their users, who always have needs that exceed what programmers can actually offer. Although it is a right granted by law, the fact that only your company has the source code is bad for users. That's so because they would like that program to grow, and they would like to see your company grow as well. If for some reason you fail to provide the changes they require, free software licensing offers them more chances to have other people implement those changes. This generates a community of people working on a KB, who save the changes in a common core -GXOpen- in an official version. Having lots of people checking out the code helps to improve the program. This benefits users and programmers, who will adopt the changes in their knowledge base. The client is free to buy it from me or not.

How many clients does LibreFarm have?
About 100 users.

Do you remember anybody saying "This is crazy"?
Yes, but then they say that you are an intelligent person and that you know what to do. This decision also has to do with devoting time to thinking about programming, what it is, and about the activity you do. If you are just a programmer who implements requirements, you will have a certain lifestyle. I like programming way beyond that. I like to get down to the very core of programming. We are a small company and cannot stop our product from being pirated. How much money would I have to invest in a lawyer to go after possible violators? As a matter of fact, users of our pirated software have shown up, and we have treated them like customers. What I'm saying is that I do profit from the copyable nature of software. If someone uses my software for free and one day decides to pay for my services, it will be good for me because my selling cost will be lower. This is a way to foster sales. The day that a given client decides to pay for our extra services related to a particular piece of software, they will be welcome. Thinking that software will lose value because it is being copied is underestimating our clients' business, which is more complex than the software they might copy. You cannot do away with the human process involved in software implementation. Free software just paves the way for our presence.

Pharmacy Business Management project, published in GXOpen http://www.gxopen.com/main/hproject.aspx?257  

See: TESTIMONIALS  Freeware Project In the GeneXus Community

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