Ongoing Open Source Support | Sirius Open Source

Perhaps you already love Open Source, and we love Open Source for sure, but let's be honest... when you think about Open Source support, you already know there are problems!

When Open Source goes wrong it can be incredibly frustrating. Finding the expert or the expertise you need, trying to work out what the problem is, and don't get us started on the documentation! All the while you just know those sceptics in your organization are thinking, and helpfully sometimes even saying, "see we told you to stick with proprietary software"...

The Problem with Open Source Support

There is no unified experience. 'Software Freedom' sure sounds great, but in reality it can feel like just too much choice!

Multiple competing options, some 'Enterprise', some 'Community'
No consistent way to install software - multiple 'package managers', or even compile from source!
No single 'throat to choke'... supporting real-world systems often means multiple support contracts with multiple vendors!

Heterogeneous environments have theoretical advantages, especially security, but Open Source incompatibility remains a problem.

Much existing enterprise software simply does not have an Open Source version
Open Source based solutions may not be available for certain use cases
There is often the issue of perfect, or even any, interoperability between platforms

Open Source has come a long way, but there is still occasional talk of Legal and Financial Issues...

There seem to be so many different Open Source licences!
There is the question whether Indemnification is needed from Open Sources suppliers.
It is not well understood, since the Software is 'Free', why anything should be paid for, like Support or Consultancy or System Integration...
Some argue TCO is higher than proprietary systems

And of course, there are always the Open Source People Problems:

The levels of Technical Expertise necessary
The available Talent Pool
Open Source's 'ease of use' and its 'learning curve'
Communication between the users and creators of Open Source software
Open Source Engineers can have difficulty relating to, or even being willing to communicate with, customers

Perhaps you don't have enough, or the right level of, expertise. There may be legal, contractual or organizational requirements to have formal external support in place. It may be that you simply want reassurance if and when the worst happens. In any case you are looking for professional Open Source support to cover your investment in Open Source.

Why hasn't the Problem been Solved?

Open Source is a way of doing software, not a vendor. There is great Open Source software (and you wouldn't be using the other kind), but usually many, one, or no companies developing it. Open Source is not made by any one company, and taking that a step further it is not even one product! Even when a single company appears to be a strong backer of a particular Open Source product, their expertise is in just that one product, usually you need support for a complete stack.

What we call 'Open Source' is a collection of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of products that have been assembled, packaged and distributed in a way that then resembles proprietary systems like UNIX, Microsoft Windows, or Apple Mac.

Each individual component has been assembled by developers working to create outstanding software freely available under an Open Source Licence.

This is how the remarkable strength of the Open Source development model ironically becomes the source of Open Source’s problems, and explains why those problems (to the Enterprise) have not been solved.

Open Source software projects are either company-driven or community-driven. Either way they are staffed by developers, and developers do a great job of writing and packaging code into products.

However You need support for the enterprise workloads you run in real-world settings, not abstract issues of source code bug-fixing. In fact Open Source communities are usually better at fixing code, but cannot be pinned down to the Service Level Agreements you need…

In short, there is a mismatch between the kind of support you need, and the kind that is on offer.

Open Source Support as it Should Be

Imagine enterprise-savvy, real-world support, whichever Open Source product you choose. Support focusing on the practicalities of running Open Source in your organization.

You can:

Cut through noise, non-essentials, and misinformation
Get Expert Guidance - how, why, what and when
Get the real answers you need, Solve the actual problems you have
Work with professionals who understand business, and talk like you talk
Get on with your business, and your mission

What's different now?

The real trick is understanding that Open Source is a service, not a product, and that Open Source software is there to be put to work, not merely evangelized and developed as code.

You can get enterprise-savvy, real-world support, whichever Open Source products you use, whether you use one or a hundred different products, and whether you're an Open Source pure-play or mix Open and Proprietary technologies. Support that focuses on the practicalities of running Open Source in your organization, as well as providing code fixes if you really need them.

Sirius has designed, built, supported and managed Open Source systems since for over two decades, for Hospitals to Corporates, London Financial Institutions to Governments.

We understand Open Source at the source code level yes, but more importantly we understand how it is used by organizations in the real world, and in its various workloads.

We have built and run thousands of machines responsible for billions of dollars of business value. We know how to support Open Source in the way you want and need it to be supported.

We would love to hear about how you are using Open Source, and we are sure you would find value in an expert, free and no-obligation discussion of your support needs. Simply have us reach out to you or call us at 0333 344 5054.