Linux Support For The Enterprise?

[CRiMSON] asks: "Does the open source model support big business? When those 90,000 POS terminals have a problem, who do they turn to? It's hard to tell your manager, that 'there no fix for the problem yet, but it's expected in the next pre-patch release.' Big businesses like accountability, someone they can point a finger at and say 'Make it work'. For Linux would you have to point to many people... Or in some way could one hold Linus responsible?" There are companies that offer support for Linux and there are several other options where, if accounting is a must, you can get it. Support can be purchased with the system, either separately or included in the contract, or you can hire in-house IT staff to make any necessary modifications that you require. What companies out there offer Enterprise-Level Support for Linux and do any of you readers out there have any experiences you would like to share?

Comments

For the Enterprise?

[Brian Kendig]

... someone they can point a finger at and say 'Make it work'.

<picardmaneuver> Actually, they just need to say 'Make it so.' </picardmaneuver>

Obtaining support from commercial vendors (???)

[sphealey]

"It's hard to tell your manager, that 'there no fix for the problem yet, but it's expected in the next pre-patch release.' Big businesses like accountability, someone they can point a finger at and say 'Make it work'."

Has anyone ever managed to hold a major software house accountable for _anything_? Microsoft, IBM, any of the big (or small) ERP vendors? I haven't seen it happen in 15 years of software support. My former employer had a super-double platinum support contract, and about 25 million USD a year in business, with a software vendor you know very well, and we NEVER managed to pin them down and force them to fix ANY of the bugs we found - some of them quite serious.

[Having previewed this, I will make one exception: Novell tends to stand behind its products more than other vendors]

As to whether you can support Linux et al, that's another question, but I hope no one is thinking they can force a commercial software house to stand behind anything. Not to even mention UMCITA.

sPh

Ebay example

[Col. Klink (retired)]

And just who did Ebay "point their finger at" when they had all those troubles? They blamed Sun, but that didn't get them back online immediately. And in the end, Sun said it was Ebay's fault because Ebay didn't apply patches provided by Sun.

The bottom line is that you've got to have your own staff to support your machines. The whole "I can blame the vendor" approach is nonsense considering the EULAs and court decisions not holding vendors responsible.

Ever read a EULA?

[jcostom]

Have you ever read the EULAs of OS vendors? Let's use Microsoft as the example. Under the terms of their EULA, the software has no warranty at all. They make no claims about fitness for a specific purpose.

This is the classic "who do I sue when Linux blows up?" fallacy. Who do you sue when Windows NT blows up, taking out half of your enterprise? Answer: it ain't Microsoft. By agreeing to their EULA, you agreed to hold them harmless, and gave up any right you might have had to sue them.
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Turn to yourself for fixes.

[mistered]

It's hard to tell your manager, that 'there no fix for the problem yet, but it's expected in the next pre-patch release.'

I'm quite sure that a decision to widely deploy Linux, like Home Depot's decision, was not made by some tech under about three levels of management. When you're talking about a deployment of that size, you carefully weigh all of the options before going ahead. I'm sure Home Depot looked at licensing costs, expected support response times, support contracts, hardware requirements, etc. before going ahead with their Linux deployment.

The article mentions Red Hat; Home Depot may have a support contract with them. If they don't, or if Red Hat disappears, there are others to turn to for support. Home Depot's IT group is probably a respectable size; they could hire an in-house Linux developer for support if desired.

What do you do if your POS system is running on a proprietary, closed operating system and you come across an OS bug? If you're big enough, you might have a support contract for your OS and perhaps you will get support, but otherwise you're basically out of luck. Even with a support contract, if the company goes under or fails to provide support in a timely manner, you have nobody else to turn to.