We’re often asked by prospects if there’s a version of the FixMe.IT remote support application that’s free for personal or limited business use. The answer is always the same: there isn’t and there will never be. And here’s why we’ve never had plans to make a free version of our product.
“Free” is all about marketing
Thinking about using freeware as a way to do business without spending a dollar is plain wrong. Indeed, there’s a number of vendors offering free versions of their products for personal use only. But why do they do that? Are they all too humble or generous?
No, they’re not.
Giving out free software helps vendors spread the word about their products and acquire more and more users every day. In short, it has always been about marketing, right from the beginning. And the bigger these vendors grow, the more they can charge business users for their services. Think of it this way: if you don’t pay for the app you use, then somebody else is going to pay for it twice as much, and it’s just not fair.
On top of that, the bigger these vendors grow, the more likely they’re to discontinue their free offerings. This actually happened in January 2014, when LogMeIn decided to drop its free service, thereby forcing customers to either consider payed options or look elsewhere. This proves that in fact nobody really cares about free users, as they don’t any profit.
SMBs want honest pricing
When we first started out, we wanted to create a remote support solution that would fully meet the needs and budgets of small and medium-sized businesses, such as ours. As a result, for the past 10 years we’ve been offering our customers the same honest price with no hidden costs, and nothing’s going to change that.
Besides all that, we’ve never tried to bring in any loans or investments and we’ve always stuck to one main principle: marketing is important, but product development is everything. That’s why we’ve been investing in improvements and customer experience rather than large-scale marketing efforts.
No compromises or limitations
“Free” means “limited”. When it comes to business use, free remote desktop tools simply can’t outperform commercial software in any way. If you opt for freeware to assist your clients remotely, you should be ready for a set of potential security holes and limitations on functionality, updates, and support.
In FixMe.IT’s case, all existing functionality along with future updates are included in its price, and our tech support team is always available to address any issues that you might have. Apart from that, FixMe.IT offers extensive branding options and has a full stack of powerful security features to protect you and your clients from any kinds of outside attacks.