The Blender foundation is dedicated to the continued development of a single software application, and that application is Blender. But does this approach represent a better development model when compared to a family of integrated products like the ones from Autodesk?
Blender is always going to be the better choice for the average home based artist because it is easily accessible to download and begin using. But Autodesk offers an entire family of applications built for various tasks that are integrated with each other for use in a more professional pipeline. Blender is better for the individual, Autodesk is better for the business.
Whenever you compare applications or companies, you are always going to find different pros and cons depending on the situation of the artist, and so the answer to the question will change for each person depending on factors ranging from features to accessibility.
Which Company Has The Better Business Model?
Comparing the business structure of the Blender Foundation to Autodesk is like comparing an apple to a bowling ball. Other than the fact that they are both round, these two objects are different in every respect. Blender and Autodesk both target the the space of 3D design, but beyond that their approaches differ greatly.
Note that the title may suggest that we are talking about the software specifically, but it would be more accurate to suggest that we are referring to the companies that own the software and continue to develop it.
The Business Model Of The Blender Foundation
The Blender Foundation exists as a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to a single goal, and that goal is the continued development of an open-source 3D application that is made available to every potential artist around the world.
It brings in its investment through a combination of one off donations from the Blender community, as well as employing the Blender development fund.
This is a tier-based membership system where you can invest a fixed amount each month to the continued development of the Blender software. And because the business model only allows for money to be invested in this venture, you know exactly where the money is going.
Then you have the corporate sponsorship, which is the highest tier of the Blender development fund that allows global companies to invest heavily in Blender for specific projects, tools, and features.
The Business Model Of AutoDesk
The business model for Blender is unusual, if not entirely unique, but for AutoDesk the business approach is far more traditional.
Autodesk has several dozen applications that it distributes for use in multiple industries, and has an entire ecosystem where you can integrate these applications together for your own workflow.
The approach here though is for the product to make the company money, unlike Blender where the software itself makes no money at all.
The more an application has the potential to making a profit, the more likely it is that the company will invest in its future development.
Autodesk has its own set of shareholders, who have the power to direct the development of existing Autodesk products as well as the development of new software.
Therefore, it is not always a guarantee that your favorite application will continue to be developed, but at the same time there is always the potential for Autodesk to heavily outpace Blender if they wanted to invest into specific software like Maya to do so.
Which Business Model Is Best For Software Development?
The business model followed by an organization will always have a strong direct influence on the continued development of its products. The model can focus on a single application or it can diversify to multiple applications.
By this point, we know that the Blender foundation has an entirely different business model to Autodesk. But which model is preferable to software development.
There is no doubt that Autodesk is the far wealthier of the two as its business model is all about dominating industries as the driving force behind companies in manufacturing, architecture, construction and even space and transportation.
If you plan to use multiple applications then Autodesk has built its ecosystem for your business to excel as you have all the tools that you need to progress.
However, there is one crucial flaw here in the business model, and that is preference. While Autodesk has software applications that focus on industries such as game design and 3D animation in the form of Maya and 3DS Max, it focuses more of its resources on applications designed for technical drawing, electrical design, construction and manufacturing.
Why? because despite the fact that Maya is considered to be an industry standard in game design and highly popular in animation, these industries do not yield the same levels of profit that other industries do. Construction for example is highly lucrative, and therefore Autodesk profit margins are more heavily influenced by these material industries than they are digital ones, and therefore investment is often skewed in their favor.
This has led to criticism in years gone by about the lack of progress being made across updates for both Maya and 3Ds MAX, particularly for MAX.
On the other hand, The Blender foundation does not have the staff or the investment to compete with AutoDesk on a financial level, but that is not the point. The Blender foundation exists for the continued development of the software, while for Autodesk the software exists for the continued profit of the company.
And when you consider the incredible the development of the software year on year, you can hardly argue with the results produced by the Blender Foundation.
Thanks For Reading The Article
We appreciate you taking the time to read through the article and we hope that you found the information that you were looking for. If you are interested in learning more about the Blender foundation and how Blender compares to other applications, then check out some of our blog posts listed below.
