Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 22:18:23 -0500 (CDT) From: John Kenagy <jktheowl@bga.com> To: Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.com> Cc: lfloyd@sonic.net, FreeBSD Chat <chat@FreeBSD.ORG>, supporters@nanyang-computer.com Subject: Re: The issue of support Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.95q.980411214121.256L-100000@barnowl> In-Reply-To: <19980412094352.28153@freebie.lemis.com>
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On Sun, 12 Apr 1998, Greg Lehey wrote: > On Sat, 11 April 1998 at 9:02:10 -0700, L. Floyd wrote: > > I work for an environmental consulting firm that mainly uses PCs (Win > > 3.x and Win95) hooked to an NT server using Banyan. We have about 1,000 > > employees nationwide tied together by a WAN. The other day I was > > talking to one of the IS support people about alternative OSs. I was > > astonished (at first) to hear that our Corp IS folks would never > > consider using an operating system that is free. They feel better about > > spending money for the product, especially if it has good support. They > > are savy enough or experienced enough to figure out problems on their > > own. > > > > So, in the case of FreeBSD, "support" may invite more corporate users to > > consider using it.... perhaps. > > > > (Of course I did mention that there was massive support via the > > Internet, but that didn't fly.) > > You may have missed the announcement I sent out yesterday. I've set > up a mailing list to discuss the matter of commercial support at > supporters@nanyang-computer.com. If you want to sign up, send mail to > majordomo@nanyang-computer.com with 'subscribe supporters' in the body > of the message. > > You raise an interesting point: should a commercially supported > version of FreeBSD cost money (not much, but enough)? How about > 'FeeBSD'? > > Greg I think that $ = legitimacy in some mind sets. I had a client that paid $250/month retainer for priority attention. We *still* billed them the regular rate for service. They also paid about nine thousand dollars for comm gear so we could get into their system. They never could get the tempo of "post then purge...";-) Joking aside, they felt better about getting priority service. If the system was down they could not invoice. That meant out of business. I think the commercial support alternative is essential for any penetration in the business world. The other ingredient is the vendor. "Free" probably means "gone" to a corporation. If the core team, or volunteers on the current lists don't want to don suits and ties, then some means of certifying a "reseller" needs to exist. That does not mean that I can't sell a FreeBSD system or that my customers or I can't give it away. I just don't get the Seal of Approval. A serialized logo if you will. It works like this. I demonstrate suit wearing, pie charting, etc. (You can see my mind set... I used to do this!?) I get a seal. Corporate types feel good about paying me money for systems. I also sell service contract with your World Wide Service, Inc. What the corporation is paying for is their lifeblood. They need a face to call that night before payroll is to print or the billing needs to go out. It isn't the operating system at all. It is the person that sold it to them. They need to get to you when they need help. You as a provider have to have the means of supporting the customer. That means you have to be in business and have an income. Business customers are not stupid. They know they must give you money or you will not be there to help them when they need it. Free = not there. I think, Greg, that your suggestion is a must, in some form. OK I'm done. Happy Easter. John To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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