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[News] Support-based Business Models Prove Viability

  • Subject: [News] Support-based Business Models Prove Viability
  • From: Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 05:13:34 +0100
  • Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy
  • Organization: Netscape / schestowitz.com
  • User-agent: KNode/0.10.4
Free versus paid support in open source

,----[ Quote ]
| Indeed, in talking with commercial open-source vendors who charge for 
| support, it seems clear that for the first few years of a project's 
| existence, support is a highly viable business model.  
`----

http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9755134-16.html


Related:

The top Linux support weaknesses, then and now

,----[ Quote ]
| In 2003, SearchEnterpriseLinux.com visited the Linux support landscape 
| with a list of Linux support weaknesses. A lot has happened over the 
| past four years, as is evident in the success of Red Hat and 
| Novell's subscription-based support models and the meteoric 
| rise of commercial-grade Ubuntu support, to name a few.
`----

http://searchenterpriselinux.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid39_gci1262974,00.html


Which is better for technical support

,----[ Quote ]
| I have found in general that with open source support you often get
| more than what you pay for but with closed source support, by some of
| the biggest names in software, the support is often lacking in the
| value department. With open source asking for support has generally
| resulted in a solution within a week and I have never paid for it.
| However with closed source companies I have open tickets that have
| not been resolved in months. With open source I can communicate
| directly with the author(s) of the program and work closely with
| them to find a solution. Closed source on the other hand has just
| requested information, verified the bug and then informed us that
| the solution may be available in the next release of the program. 
`----

http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/linux/locutus/archives/which-is-better-for-technical-support-13621
http://tinyurl.com/ygspn7


Microsoft's Genuine Advantage

,----[ Snippet ]
| A lot of managers are afraid to use Open Source Software, because it
| doesn't come with any support. Of course that isn't true. It is a classical
| piece of FUD. And then again, how much is support worth?
| 
| [...]
| 
| MS:   Microsoft Support. Good morning, sir. Can I help you.
| IC:   Windows displays some strange message on my screen.
| MS:   What's the message, sir.
| IC:   ReadStringFromInf: UpdSpGetLineText failed: 0xe0000102; Microsoft
| Windows is Not Present
| MS:   May I have your product key, sir.
| IC:   [gives completely valid product key]
| MS:   Ok, sir. Can you please reboot your PC?
| IC:   Will that solve the problem?
| MS:   Please reboot your PC, sir.
| IC:   Ok, ok, wait a minute.
| MS:   Please call us again if you eXPerience any more problems. Have a
| nice day, sir. [click]
`----

http://thebeez.vnunetblogs.com/the_beez_speaks/2006/09/microsofts_genu.html


I work for MS but even I struggle to get a hot-fix

,----[ Quote ]
| The problem took 260 minutes to resolve from start to
| finish and an estimated 90 minutes of Ledgard's time,
| not including the time it took to write-up his problems...
| Still, the frustrations experienced by Ledgard give
| a salutary lesson that Microsoft's online product
| support is mediocre, at best, and will surely strike
| a chord with many long-suffering sys admins.
`----

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/24/ms_hot-fix_hell/

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