Hackathons have been embraced by organisations ranging from Suncorp, Atlassian, MYOB, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, Fairfax Media (publisher of this article), even the federal government, as a way to encourage and leverage creativity. Unlike security hacks where bounties are offered to hackers to identify flaws in existing code, hackathons are organised for employees, outside participants, or a mix of the two — to hatch innovations that may or may not see the light of day. Deloitte Digital, which has run internal hackathons and organised third party events, claims well-run hackathons can unlock "social good", but partner Steve Hallam acknowledged that to be successful and sustainable, hackathons have to invest in the ideas generated, and can't be some form of cynical marketing exercise. "You only get one or two shots at a hackathon," said Hallam, noting that coders and hackathon devotees quickly worked out which ones were worth attending. Fiona Tweedie, who is a board member of Open Knowledge Australia and an organiser of July's GovHack says that it and events such as HealthHack are intended to build community rather than exploit hackers — and also focus on "hack longevity", where concepts born of hackathons receive investment to bring them to life.

Sydney coder Pete Watts set up Swarm.fm with the $20,000 he won from hackathons two years ago and relocated to San Francisco. Two years on Swarm.fm is no more but Watts, now based in New York, still credits hackathons with setting him on his current trajectory and building a network that continues to sustain him. But he is keenly aware that not all hackathons are created equal: "For an organisation the best outcome is getting the tech community excited. We love solving problems, so if you can get us interested, we can't help but look for innovative solutions. "The worst thing you can do is think that hackathons are a magical way to get work done for free, or find lots of unemployed developers. Many organisations fall into this trap, and it leads to lousy outcomes for all." The worst thing you can do is think that hackathons are a magical way to get work done for free... Pete Watts Most hackathons offer prizes — some, but not all, come with strings.

John Lunn, senior director of developer relations at PayPal and a BattleHack judge, said that the final winners get to share the prize with no strings attached - "If they want they can spend it on beer." Not everyone does. Gearbox, which won the Australian BattleHack last year, is currently developing a pilot of its hack, which will set up lockers filled with sports gear in parks . The gear can be rented by the hour using a mobile phone app. MasterCard is more prescriptive — to participate in its hackathon, teams have to be active merchant users of the company's Simplify Commerce system, and while they get to keep their IP, if they win the grand prize of $US100,000 the funds have to be spent further developing the application. It's an approach that jars with Lunn. He believes that for hackathons to bear fruit: "They've got to be good for the community and not just about a corporation trying to suck brains dry." Similarly he cautions against companies using hackathons as recruitment pools. Steve Hallam says the best results come from three-phase hackathons which encourage idea generation, provide a framework for advancing the idea, and ultimately launch a product or service.

The Commonwealth Bank has held internal, external and co-creative hackathons in its quest for new ideas. Vanessa Beggs, general manager of the bank's organisation development and innovation initiatives, says that internal hacks in particular are good for mixing up skills in the bank, exposing participants to senior management, and help build an innovative culture. External hackathons, such as the one the bank hosted at CeBIT last year, are seen as a way to expose developers to the bank's technology platforms and encourage development and uptake. Alan Jones, chief growth hacker at start-up specialist BlueChilli, says that in an ideal world hackathons provide coders with the chance to "learn how innovation works" and potentially find early investors. He says that well run hackathons can act as a tipping point, allowing start up wannabes the chance to validate their ideas. "Go and participate. It will help you identify which skills you have, if you've got what it takes, and you could win enough capital to get you started." Follow IT Pro on Twitter