Pink Software, one of South Africa’s oldest computer software companies, has decided to give away its accounting package, TurboCASH.7, free of charge, managing director Philip Copeman announced on Monday. The latest programme can now be downloaded at no charge, and 15 000 free CDs will be attached to the cover of a software magazine that will hit the streets next Monday.
Copeman, who is also 85% owner of Pink Software, said he had been toying with the idea of giving away the software for some time, instead making his returns on consulting, training, support contracts, product add-ons, and consumables. He now guaranteed that it would always be available at no charge.
With an annual turnover of roughly R3-million, Pink Software competes with the likes of JSE-listed Softline, currently the target of a buyout by several different companies.
“The TurboCASH.7 programme, which normally sells for R1 300, is now published under the General Public License, an international agreement that guarantees that it will always be free,” Copeman explained. “Users can copy it and hand it onto to friends, or download it. The only stipulation is that whatever upgrades users make to the programme are also available free. But I concede that it will be difficult to manage.”
In the past small companies and individuals in the free software target market were not considered a major opportunity for the larger software providers. That, according to Copeman, has changed dramatically.
The public sector in Europe is embracing free software, with Germany currently the highest user. The Danish Technology Board recently investigated free software and concluded that it could save as much as 500-million euros over four years by switching to the concept.
“While South Africa’s government should be investigating the efficiencies of free software, my immediate aim is the thousands of emerging entrepreneurs that are poised to break into the small business scene in South Africa,” he said.
Copeman says the timing of his free offer is not designed to put pressure on the pending Softline sale. Softline manufactures Pastel, TurboCASH’s biggest competitor.
“Tussling with Softline is not the objective. Pastel, their accounting programme, has 100 000 users. We have 15 000. I suspect our decision will be irrelevant to them. In any case they can’t play in the free market. Their investors can’t allow them to.”
However the move is bound to get Softline’s attention. It is currently in negotiations with Sage, the FTSE-100 accounting and business software giant that is the latest company in the race to acquire Softline.
“What might trouble them is that what they are selling for R8 000 can now be downloaded for free.”
Copeman says he has already irked Sage. “We went into the UK last month and have already sold 2 000 packages. From today we will be giving them away. Sage is yet to sell one of their packages in South Africa. It is only the internet and the free downloading that enables us, a R3-million a year company, to square up to Sage, which has an after tax profit of 136-million sterling.”
“Out immediate export targets are the UK, USA, Australia and then Brazil. By going the ‘free’ route we are moving into direct competition with the international players; Intuit’s Quick Books in the USA, Sage’s Accounting in the UK, Simply Accounting in Canada, Myob in Australia and we remain in competition with Softline and whoever takes them over.” – I-Net Bridge