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Read and share online: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/free-software-in-business-success-stories

Dear Ruben Safir,

Even though the vast majority of software development and news
articles on technology still predominantly focus on proprietary
software, public pressure is increasingly shifting the conversation to
include ethical considerations. Whenever you feel that free software
is not making strong enough waves, I urge you to look at the
LibrePlanet conference video collection (or listen to the
talks), to strengthen your belief. Making free software a kitchen
table issue in every home can at times seem like an insurmountable
challenge, but there are so many community members doing incredibly
inspiring work driving user freedom forward.

This is why we have been updating our "Working Together for Free
Software" pages in the last few weeks, with new testimonials from
activists and enthusiasts. We have heard why people believe in free
software, and how free software can make a difference in all
industries. This third blog post in the series inspired by interviews
with community members will bring some attention to the success that
people have had advocating for free software through their
occupations. It manifests how appeals to user freedom, and successful
free software implementations, are driving forces behind the
advancement of businesses all over the world.

Adam Monsen, senior director of engineering at C-SATS R&D, and a
founder of SeaGL, the Seattle GNU/Linux Conference, puts it
simply:

Free software is the backbone of our robust software
supply chain at C-SATS. We know we'll always be able to improve
or customize it.

But for some people, free software is not an option their employer
presents for them, or it doesn't seem like a natural go-to for the
business or its customers. Alper Atmaca, a law professional, and board
member of the Free Software Association (Özgür Yaz?l?m Derne?i)
in Turkey, runs into this daily, and poetically explains:

A needle that refuses to go through certain fabric is as
ridiculous as today's computing restrictions. But we laugh
about the former, and continue to use the latter.

As a law professional who works in criminal and data protection
cases mainly, I see this is truer everyday. It is generally
accepted that a law office runs on overpriced, hyped nonfree
software. That expectation drives an unwarranted
standardization of tools that do not necessarily drive the
client's best interest in law spheres.

Alper starts conversations about free software every day, and
convinces his clients of its value in his professional field. You can
read his entire statement to learn more about how he invests time
in his clients to educate them. He states:

I am proud to have had some clients who became even fiercer
freedom advocates than I am.

Individuals who bring their advocacy to their workplace can make a
huge difference for the movement. We can benefit greatly if we bring
conversations around software freedom to the conference table as well
as the kitchen table. In recent years, we have seen organizations that
prioritize freedom secure a stronger foothold in a range of
industries. One example is Nextcloud, the popular file sharing
and collaboration platform founded by Frank Karlitschek:

Working in a global community where decisions aren't purely
dependent on boring company politics and where code is reused
instead of reimplemented is just so much more interesting and
rewarding!

He continues:

[...] when I was young, free software was still almost always a
hobby, something you did as a student, until you got a "real"
job. One where you showed up in a suit, did things you knew
were often useless, working on projects that were not going
anywhere and didn't help anyone. I wanted to change that for
myself, and later, also for others. And today, my company
employs several dozen developers, and we're hiring new ones all
the time!

As Adam, Alper, and Frank show us, the use of free software in
business for reasons related to freedom is not just viable, but
advantageous. You can advocate for free software within your industry
by making an effort to show how free software fits your clients'
needs, and your passion for free software can translate into a
successful business. Your advocacy through your workplace will help
make progress towards free software becoming a true kitchen table
issue.

Free software is an idea, a set of principles, and a community that's
been growing in both size and importance every day for over 35
years. This set of principles needs to be protected against constant
threats, like the novel coronavirus, and the billions of dollars from
governments and proprietary software corporations that we're up
against. It's an uphill battle, but we most certainly are making
headway.

Right now, we are only about 50 members away from reaching our
associate member goal before August 7th. A larger community
means more speaking power, and a greater ability to uplift community
members who refuse to accept the proprietary status quo, like the
inspiring group of people we have interviewed over the past few
weeks.

Thank you for helping drive the FSF forward with your support. Can you
take the next step by joining us as an associate member? You can
start for as little as $10 per month ($5 for students), or $120 per
year. You'll be able to enjoy all the member benefits, which
include merchandise discounts, a bootable membership card, access to
the FSF member forum where people are sharing their stories, and
now, freedom-respecting video chat via the FSF videoconferencing
server.

You can also share your own story about your work or business using
free software and how you are defending #UserFreedom via social media
using the hashtag, or on our LibrePlanet mailing list. Knowing
that there are people standing up for freedom all over the world is so
inspiring to us, and we hope it's inspiring to you as well.

Thank you for being part of this fight.

Zoë Kooyman

Program Manager

Illustration Copyright © 2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc., by
Raghavendra Kamath, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International license.