Mozilla, the developer behind the free Thunderbird email client program that I highly recommend, is making a big change. They’re switching Thunderbird from a not-for-profit project to a brand-new division called MZLA Technologies Corporation. The goal of this new division is to figure how to make money with Thunderbird.
The company promises this won’t affect home users of Thunderbird. The program will still be free to download and use. However, they’re hoping with this change that they’ll be able to make it a viable challenger to Outlook.
They hope to make money in two ways. First, by offering premium additional services to home users and also by possible offering a business version of Thunderbird where companies would be willing to pay for additional services tailored to the business user.
According to the company, “The move will allow the project to collect revenue through partnerships and non-charitable donations, which in turn can be used to cover the costs of new products and services.”
Mozilla’s Firefox browser and Thunderbird email client are well-respected for protecting privacy but have struggled to compete against Google Chrome Browser and as more people turn to web email interfaces.