What is your goal for the Alpha program in terms of market penetration? The typical free software program is about enticing the technical enthusiast to incorporate the product in their workflow on the job, so that their employers will sponsor projects or just buy the software.

You would need to gate any market entry with some research about market size and pricing. Then, you can decide if there is a market for your product in the community space. But, you really have to know if money is the goal, or market size or social capitalism.

Early in our business, the founder entered numerous markets that were too small to go vertical. Avoid this outcome.

David Locke

IMHO, Community Editions are not loss leaders. You are not giving up revenues, because the people downloading it would NEVER pay for it in the first place. And, they are NOT going to be customers.

The reason you might not want to do a Community Edition centers around the difference between technology and products. If it is a poduct, then you already skipped the Community Edition opportunity. If it is a technology that has yet to be productized, then the Community Edition is the right thing to do. But, to do it right you have to realize that the Community Edition is for geeks who like to play with technology. They may convince their management to incorporate your technology into their systems, but these geeks are not your customers. Their bosses are.

If you have a product going into an existing category, then skip Community Editions, because they are part of the "teach the market" paradigm where the goal is accellerating adoption. Existing categories have already been adopted. Just launch your marcom campaign and start selling like Dubiki said.

David Locke