Open-Source Support: The More You Know, The Better It LooksOpen-Source Support: The More You Know, The Better It Looks

Open-source support has a problem: People who assume, for no good reason, that it has a problem.When Forrester researchers last month asked a group of European IT professionals to discuss their concerns about open-source software, support issues topped the list. This issue, writes open-source business expert Matt Asay, "has persisted for years, with support (or, a lack thereof) consistently listed as one of the top reasons" why firms distrust open-source software.

It's a familiar complaint -- and it's just plain wrong. In fact, according to Asay, support represents one of the pillars of the open-source business model:

"The ironic thing is that open-source companies primarily sell support, not software. So...while proprietary-software vendors sell licenses with support as an afterthought, enterprises don't seem to question that they're going to get support. At the same time, open-source companies sell support with licenses as an afterthought...and enterprise buyers worry that they won't get support."

What perpetuates this attitude towards open-source support? Judging from another recent study, this one involving nearly 1,000 European Union public administrators, it seems that the less one knows about open-source support and training, the more likely one is to complain about it:

"'Though 39 percent of respondents in our surveys considered it problematic to find technical support for Open Source systems, this may be perception rather than fact. Our data shows that this sentiment is strongest among non-users and those who are unaware of Open Source software.' Actual Open Source users, bearing the costs of training and technical support, tend to disagree with the statements that training and support are expensive or hard to find."

In other words: Don't knock it if you haven't tried it. There seems to be enough of that going on already.