SOFTWARE AVG INTERVIEW
Home free
After ten years of offering totally free protection from the evils of the web, AVG boasts one of the largest and most loyal customer bases. Its 110 million users are symbiotic with its success, acting as the firm's eyes and ears in the search for malicious software, scams, and cyber attacks. And with the firm currently blocking 5,000 pieces of malware each day from Facebook alone, it certainly needs them. On the tenth anniversary of AVG Free and the launch of its new 2011 product, Andrew Wooden talks to president and CEO JR Smith about the business model, the changing dangers, and the possibility of government funded cyber-warfare…
“I find it hard to
see how we would have got to 110 million through traditional
methods.” JR Smith, AVG
Ten years ago, when every other security firm was charging for protection, what made you decide to offer it for free, and how has that ended up shaping your business? The free model has evolved over time, but the original decision to launch free was really to grab market share. Now it’s completely viral. The user base supports itself through forums; 70 per cent of people who use our free
www.pcr-online.biz
product do so because somebody recommended it.
But couldn’t you have made more money by charging? Or would you not have been anywhere near your current size if you did? The driver behind the business has been the ‘freemium’ model. I find it hard to see how we would have got to 110 million through traditional methods.
We’re growing on average 80 per cent a year, we have margins that are twice the industry average; it’s a beautiful story and we did it all by giving it away.
So where does the money come from? The paid base helps support the free base; a lot of small businesses buy it, and a lot of consumers just buy it too. There are a lot of ways we monetise underneath. We
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