Best Practice Report

Open Source Support Services: Buyer's Guide

Six Criteria For Choosing An Open Source Support Provider

Julie Giera
 and  two contributors
Feb 02, 2007

Summary

The proliferation of open source in the enterprise, coupled with the number of third-party consultants, service providers, distribution firms, and outsourcers offering open source services, has left customers with a confusing set of choices for the maintenance and support of these platforms. Most recently, that confusion was exacerbated by the Oracle announcement of its Unbreakable Linux support offering and the joint Microsoft-Novell announcement regarding interoperability and Microsoft's agreement to sell Novell SUSE support offerings to its customers. Although these recent announcements do offer some intrigue and point to further volatility in the market, the best choices for open source maintenance and support still lie with those firms that have a demonstrable, multiyear track record in this market segment.

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