Why your company should contribute to open-source software

I've always thought companies should contribute to open-source software.

Whether it's financial or contributing time, if companies use free, open-source software (and especially if they're directly making money from it).

Contributing to the software you use will improve the software, whether adding new features, fixing a bug, or contributing translations.

Having contributors to the software is a great way to differentiate your company from the competition, and the knowledge gained from contributing will result in better code for your projects.

If you organise or sponsor events such as conferences and meetups, you also get exposure from the event and help support the event and community.

Here's the thing...

I've recently pledged to donate a percentage of income from Drupal-related services to the Drupal Association and would like to see others do the same if they can.

I also sponsor several individuals and organisations on GitHub who build software and create content I use so I get better tools and knowledge for myself and my projects.

If your company can contribute to open-source, I'd encourage them to do so and help support open-source software projects and communities.