In a perfect world, all software would be self-explanatory and wouldn’t require any additional support. But in the real world, ensuring customers get the support they need is paramount to any enterprise software provider.
That’s becoming especially true in open source. In recent years, paid open source support services have sprung up as enterprises seek support models similar to those they’re accustomed to in proprietary software, which often includes some level of professional support.
But a new study suggests that paying for open source support doesn’t always guarantee the best level of service, compared to open source users’ traditional ways of getting assistance through community resources, like mailing lists and message boards.
The study, conducted by OpenLogic, itself a vendor of open source support, found that only 38 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with the support they received from a commercial open source organization.
Meanwhile, nearly 61 percent of the survey’s respondents were satisfied with the open source support they get from their own internal support staff. A further 49 percent reported that they were satisfied with support from community mailing lists and message boards.
“I was surprised that on commercial open source companies we saw lower satisfaction than I expected,” Kim Weins, senior vice president of marketing at OpenLogic, told InternetNews.com.
The satisfaction levels were mirrored by how often the respondents used a specific avenue for open source support. Fifty-six percent of the respondents reported often using internal support resources, while 55 percent reported using mailing lists and message boards.
Only 10 percent of respondents reported that they often used an external open source software vendor.
Weins said that the high degree of satisfaction and usage associated with internal support resources is likely related to the speed with which those resources are able to respond. She added that internal resources are also likely more familiar with the company, a factor likely to improve results.
Open source community resources also fared well in the study for similarly offering quick turnaround on support questions, she said.
Mailing lists and online forums also benefit from lowered initial expectations, which can translate into higher satisfaction, she added. On the other hand, users typically have higher expectations for paid support offerings.
This article was first published on InternetNews.com. To read the full article, click here.
Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Driving Greater Equality
FEATURE | By James Maguire,
December 16, 2020
AI vs. Machine Learning vs. Deep Learning
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
December 11, 2020
Huawei’s AI Update: Things Are Moving Faster Than We Think
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
December 04, 2020
Keeping Machine Learning Algorithms Honest in the ‘Ethics-First’ Era
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 18, 2020
Key Trends in Chatbots and RPA
FEATURE | By Guest Author,
November 10, 2020
FEATURE | By Samuel Greengard,
November 05, 2020
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 02, 2020
How Intel’s Work With Autonomous Cars Could Redefine General Purpose AI
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 29, 2020
Dell Technologies World: Weaving Together Human And Machine Interaction For AI And Robotics
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 23, 2020
The Super Moderator, or How IBM Project Debater Could Save Social Media
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
October 16, 2020
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
October 07, 2020
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
October 05, 2020
CIOs Discuss the Promise of AI and Data Science
FEATURE | By Guest Author,
September 25, 2020
Microsoft Is Building An AI Product That Could Predict The Future
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 25, 2020
Top 10 Machine Learning Companies 2021
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
September 22, 2020
NVIDIA and ARM: Massively Changing The AI Landscape
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
September 18, 2020
Continuous Intelligence: Expert Discussion [Video and Podcast]
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 14, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Governance and Ethics [Video]
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 13, 2020
IBM Watson At The US Open: Showcasing The Power Of A Mature Enterprise-Class AI
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 11, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Perception vs. Reality
FEATURE | By James Maguire,
September 09, 2020
Datamation is the leading industry resource for B2B data professionals and technology buyers. Datamation's focus is on providing insight into the latest trends and innovation in AI, data security, big data, and more, along with in-depth product recommendations and comparisons. More than 1.7M users gain insight and guidance from Datamation every year.
Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on Datamation and our other data and technology-focused platforms.
Advertise with Us
Property of TechnologyAdvice.
© 2025 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved
Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this
site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives
compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products
appear on this site including, for example, the order in which
they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies
or all types of products available in the marketplace.