🚀 go-pugleaf

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Date: 8 Feb 92 06:04:34 GMT
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Organization: Brown U.
From: Bob Weiner <rsw@cs.brown.edu>
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Subject: Re: How to charge for supporting free software?
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> rsw@cs.brown.EDU (Bob Weiner) writes:
>>The present industry may have confused you as to what service should
>>be.  If you think of a quality product, the producer of such product
>>should feel an obligation to remove defects and prevent them from
>>disrupting his customers' work.  Service should not be so much about
>>defect removal but about extending functionality to meet customer
>>demands and supporting them in their use of the product through
>>training and consulting.

>>Think of the bigger picture and it may appear to you.  Free software
>>opens up the service market and allows competitive forces to deliver
>>more quality service for software products.

David Chase wrote:
> In the case of my car, bicycle, stereo, toaster, refrigerator, and
> furnace, quality service is the Maytag repair man (i.e., no service).
> I'v received "quality service" at Nordstrom, and it was nice, but not
> particularly what I want to pay for on a regular basis.  When I get my
> car repaired, I do go someplace where I like the service, but I regard
> it as a defect in the car that it needs service at all.

I agree about the car.  That is why I distinguished software service
from defect removal.

> Presumably, the bigger picture has appeared to you.  Can you provide
> examples of where "quality service for software products" is an
> interesting (i.e., profit-making) concept?

Cygnus Support is making good money mostly customizing developer tools
to meet new needs that companies have.

Database consultants do quite well tailoring general applications to
conform to company-specific operating procedures.

Value-added resellers can integrate solutions from a variety of sources
into a sum-is-greater-than-the-parts system solution.

Quality object-oriented methods training is a lucrative market these days
because of ever growing demand.

And many new markets will open up in the next few years that will just
cry out for custom solutions and effective consulting.
--
Bob Weiner				   rsw@cs.brown.edu
Personalized Information Environments are good for you.