Zeroth draft of a /companies section.

source/companies/_index.md

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+---
+title: Companies and Open Source
+url: /companies/
+tags: ["companies", "business", "navigation"]
+---
+
+# Companies and Open Source
+
+All modern digital infrastructure is dependent on open source software.
+Companies must think strategically about how they will engage with the
+open source projects on which they rely in order to ensure
+sustainability, and influence the direction of these projects for the
+benefit of their customers.
+
+## [Benefits to Companies](/companies/benefits.html)
+
+Active participation in open source projects provides significant strategic and operational benefits to companies, from talent acquisition to technology innovation and market positioning.
+
+## Ways to contribute
+
+There are three primary ways that companies can engage with ASF
+projects. Each has costs and benefits that should be carefully
+considered.
+
+<div class="row">
+    <!-- Employ -->
+    <div class="col-md-4">
+
+### [Employ Contributors](/companies/employ.html)
+
+[![employ](/images/company-employ.jpg)](/companies/employ.html)
+
+The most effective way companies support ASF projects is by employing developers, and other professionals, who contribute to directly projects. This includes not just code contributions, but documentation, community management, testing, design, and advocacy work.
+    </div><!-- End Employ -->
+
+
+<div class="col-md-4">
+<!-- Sponsor -->
+
+### [Financial Sponsorship](/companies/sponsor.html)
+
+[![sponsor](/images/company-sponsor.jpg)](/companies/sponsor.html)
+
+Companies can provide crucial financial support through ASF sponsorship, in-kind donation of services, Community Over Code conference sponsorship, local meetup support, and direct contributor sponsorship programs.
+
+</div> <!-- End Sponsor -->
+
+<!-- Advocacy-->
+<div class="col-md-4">
+
+### [Advocacy](/companies/advocacy.html)
+
+[![advocacy](/images/company-advocacy.jpg)](/companies/advocacy.html)
+
+Companies can advocate for ASF project adoption both publicly and with their customers, while appropriately using open source project brands and promoting the value of community-driven development.
+    </div> <!-- End Advocacy-->
+</div> <!-- End Row -->
+---
+
+*The Apache Software Foundation welcomes corporate participation that aligns with our mission of providing software for the public good.*

source/companies/advocacy.md

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+---
+title: Open Source Advocacy
+url: /companies/advocacy.html
+tags: ["companies", "advocacy", "branding"]
+---
+
+# Open Source Advocacy
+
+Advocating for ASF projects, while respecting the project's independence
+and honoring the project's brands, can significantly drive adoption of
+the project, which can advance your own company's business
+
+While it's fine to associate your company's name and reputation with an
+ASF project, you must do it in ways that don't confuse or mislead the
+public about the project's independence.
+
+Be sure your marketing department understands and respects the [ASF Trademark
+Policy](https://www.apache.org/foundation/marks/).
+
+

source/companies/benefits.md

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+---
+title: Benefits of Open Source Participation
+url: /companies/benefits.html
+tags: ["companies", "benefits", "business value"]
+---
+
+# Benefits of ASF Participation
+
+Companies that actively participate in ASF projects realize significant strategic and operational advantages that extend far beyond cost savings. It's important to think strategically about how, where, and why you will participate and measure impact. It can be challenging to justify these benefits to management, as many of them are long-term. And these benefits will vary greatly depending on the nature of your business.
+
+## Business and Strategic Advantages
+
+
+
+### Market Positioning
+- Establish thought leadership in key technology areas
+- Build brand recognition and trust within developer communities
+- Demonstrate commitment to industry standards and collaboration
+- Influence technology direction and ecosystem development
+
+### Customer Relationships
+- Provide transparent, auditable technology solutions
+- Offer customers freedom from vendor lock-in
+- Build trust through community-driven development
+- Enable customer participation in product evolution
+
+### Competitive Advantage
+- Shape industry standards and best practices
+- Access innovations before they become mainstream
+- Build strategic partnerships through community collaboration
+- Reduce competitive threats through ecosystem participation
+
+## Recruiting and Employee Satisfaction
+
+### Recruiting
+
+By working upstream on projects, you directly showcase to potential
+employees what they might be working on. This helps attract the right
+kind of talent to work on your priorities, which decreases recruitment
+costs. 
+
+Meanwhile, being involved in the day-to-day life of the project
+gives you direct access to the most qualified people in the world to
+work on your team. And you know they'll be arriving with the skills you
+need.
+
+### Employee Development
+The very best way to develop skills around an ASF project is to work
+directly on that project, and receive feedback from peers.
+
+- Enhance technical skills through diverse project exposure
+- Develop leadership and collaboration abilities
+- Build professional networks and industry recognition
+- Increase job satisfaction and retention rates
+
+### Knowledge Transfer
+- Learn from industry experts and best practices
+- Stay current with emerging technologies and trends
+- Develop cross-functional expertise
+- Build institutional knowledge and capabilities
+
+## Technology and Innovation
+
+### Risk Mitigation
+- Avoid vendor lock-in and proprietary dependencies
+- Ensure long-term technology sustainability
+- Benefit from community security reviews and updates
+- Maintain control over critical technology components
+
+### Faster Time to Market
+- Focus resources on core business differentiators
+- Accelerate development through community contributions
+- Reduce testing and validation overhead
+
+## Operational Benefits
+
+### Cost Efficiency
+- Share development and maintenance expenses across community
+- Minimize duplicate effort through collaboration
+
+## Long-term Strategic Value
+
+### Ecosystem Influence
+- Participate in technology roadmap decisions
+- Build strategic relationships with key industry players
+- Influence standards and best practices development
+- Create sustainable competitive advantages
+
+### Innovation Pipeline
+- Access emerging technologies and research
+- Participate in next-generation technology development
+- Build capabilities for future market opportunities
+- Establish innovation partnerships and collaborations
+
+### Organizational Learning
+- Develop open collaboration and transparency practices
+- Build cross-functional and cross-organizational capabilities
+- Enhance organizational agility and adaptability
+- Create culture of continuous learning and improvement
+
+The benefits of open source participation compound over time, creating sustainable competitive advantages and fostering innovation that drives long-term business success.

source/companies/employ.md

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+---
+title: Employing Open Source Contributors
+url: /companies/employ.html
+tags: ["companies", "employment", "contributors"]
+---
+
+# Employing Open Source Contributors
+
+If your business relies on an open source project, employing
+contributors to the project is the most effective way to ensure that
+your priorities influence project decisions. (See
+[Recruiting and Employee Satisfaction](/companies/benefits.html#recruiting-and-employee-satisfaction)
+
+This goes [far beyond code contributions](/contributors/non-code.html), 
+although that is the most obvious and visible way that you can participate.
+
+## Effective ways to contribute
+
+While many companies contribute here and there to open source projects,
+having a carefully considered strategy for doing so will lead to more
+consistent, measurable results, and greater influence in the project's
+decisions and roadmap.
+
+### Allocate Dedicated Time
+
+Earning trust in open source projects takes consistent engagement, and
+visibility to the community. Thus, having guaranteed dedicated time to
+focus on upstream work will result in better long-term results.
+
+Giving employees a specific time allocation - 10-20% of their schedule
+is typical - will ensure that they remain visible to the community, and
+are able to have focused time to build their skills.
+
+Trust earned by one contributor does not necessarily rub off on your 
+other employees. So don't assume that you can just swap out one employee
+for another.
+
+### Recognize Contributions
+
+Include open source contributions in performance reviews and career 
+advancement considerations. Define specific metrics, such as PRs
+accepted, reviews, public speaking engagements, or promotion to
+committer or PMC member, which are tied to promotion opportunities. This
+will help employees feel appreciated, and communicate that engagement in
+open source projects is not considered charity or altruism, but is a key
+part of company goals.
+
+### Support Conference and Meetup Participation
+
+Fund employee attendance at relevant conferences and encourage speaking
+opportunities. Understand that attending conferences is primarily about
+creating opportunities to collaborate with peers, and this, in turn,
+will accelerate your business priorities.
+
+### Respect Project Independence
+
+Take time to understand ASF ethos, the [ASF Trademark
+Policy](https://www.apache.org/foundation/marks/), and the reasons why
+we value project independence. Trust takes a long time to earn, but can
+be burned very quickly by misusing a project's brand.
+
+Ensure contributions align with long-term project goals rather than 
+solely short-term company priorities. That ensures that the project as a
+whole remains healthy.
+
+## Getting Started
+
+1. Identify projects your company already uses or depends on
+2. Connect with existing contributors in your organization
+3. Start with small, manageable contributions
+4. Build relationships within project communities
+5. Gradually increase involvement and responsibility (See [Becoming a
+   committer](/contributors/becomingacommitter.html)
+
+Companies that invest in employing open source contributors create a sustainable model that benefits the entire ecosystem while building internal expertise and community relationships.
+

source/companies/sponsor.md

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+---
+title: Financial Sponsorship of Open Source
+url: /companies/sponsor.html
+tags: ["companies", "sponsorship", "funding"]
+---
+
+# Financial Sponsorship
+
+The sustainability of our projects relies on consistent funding for
+infrastructure, legal services, marketing, events, and many other
+expenses. Financial sponsorship is a direct way to participate in
+keeping the lights on.
+
+## ASF Sponsorship
+
+Companies can sponsor the ASF with an [annual
+donation](https://apache.org/foundation/sponsorship.html), 
+[conferences sponsorship](https://communityovercode.org),
+targeted donations to a particular project, or in-kind donations of
+products or services.
+
+## Event and meetup sponsorship
+
+In addition to the [main ASF conference](https://communityovercode.org),
+many ASF projects have their own events. These are usually listed on
+[events.apache.org](https://events.apache.org), and announced within the
+project community itself.
+
+Sponsoring, and speaking at, these events, is perhaps the fastest way to
+raise your profile in a project community, and for your employees to
+earn trust and visibility within the project.
+
+Supporting local gatherings of open source enthusiasts is a great way to
+foster community growth, and can help your company attract and retain
+experts in your employ.
+
+See also the [Apache Local
+Communities](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/COMDEV/Apache+Local+Community+-+ALC)
+for local and regional groups where you can engage with other ASF
+enthusiasts.
+
+