During the 2008-2009 recession, the Global Animation and Design Software market industries faced backlash as film and gaming industries tightened their purse strings. Since then, TechNavio has kept a watchful eye on the market, witnessing impressive growth as the demand for content with special effects reaches an all-time high.
An emerging trend in the Animation and Design world is open source software, which carries a license and when purchased, enables the buyer to use and distribute the software as they see fit. This type of software being relatively new to the Animation and Design Market, it is proving to be a mixed bag of both positive and negative results, which are outlined below.
The Pros
The demand for Animation and Design Software is higher than ever as major market players like game designers and film studios produce more content with special effects. There has also been an increase in animated content in smaller industries, like mobile entertainment. Open source software is becoming the “go-to” for smaller companies because of lower initial investment costs, lower long term costs and overall availability.
The Cons
A huge downfall of open source software is that it only has to be purchased once and then it can be loaded onto multiple systems for multiple users, which nets significantly less profits than commercial animation software. There is also the issue of piracy in the software world. The increased accessibility of open source software makes it more susceptible for theft and illegal reproduction.
The Solution
Open source software is sold with a license which limits the amount of times the buyer can legally share it, but there is no real authority making sure that users abide by the license they purchased. Perhaps developments in digital verification are in the future for open source animation and design software.
What’s Next?
Despite open source software profiting from just the initial cost, the availability and lower initial investment is constantly attracting new companies to the industry, which will help the market continue to prosper. All in all, we at TechNavio are confident that the demand for animated entertainment will fuel the market for years to come.
For more information, see our report on the Global Animation and Design Software Market in Entertainment Industry 2012-2016.
