Paid Support with Service Level Agreement (SLA)

The full quote reads

The major differentiating factor between OS and proprietary, when it comes to CMS, is the structured support and accountability of a "for pay" system.

If I had to make a guess -- and this is purely anecdotal -- I would say the larger OS CMS's are more secure than proprietary systems. With so many eyes going through the code, exploits are found, but they are patched almost immediately. Some OS CMS's are extremely poorly coded, but others are elegantly designed.

Having used and supported both proprietary and open source apps, the access to "structured support" frequently translates into frustrating conversations with people who appear to have more training foisting blame onto different parts of your setup (Microsoft tech: The problem lies in Product X; Product X tech: The problem lies with Microsoft) than in actually solving problems.

In my experience, quality support costs money. The only way to be cost effective is to hire your support carefully -- make sure you are hiring a consultant/service who understands your needs and will commit to meeting them in a realistic time frame.

Anybody can promise to meet an unrealistic demand. Trying to get them to make good on that promise? If you can figure out how to make that happen, please post back :)

EDIT: after re-reading my post, I realized that what I wrote could be construed as a criticism of The Longsight Group's SLA -- definitely not intended -- their SLA is a fair and realistic document that accurately defines a robust and sustainable level of support END EDIT

Cheers,

Bill

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http://www.funnymonkey.com
Tools for Teachers

Hi Greg,

I'm slightly confused with what you're saying.

SLA's are fairly standard for turn-key solutions. Such as proprietary software products that, routinely, have a built in additional cost that covers after-sales support.

I used to work in localisation a few years ago and we always used to chuckle at how proprietary software is packaged in a sealed envelope. If you ever take the time to read one, you'll notice mentions of "once you break the seal", "you are using this at your own risk".."we are not responsible for anything" etcetera. and the world famous READ THIS FIRST messages. I vividly remember them because the translators used to have a tough time translating some of them. especially for certain territories, where consumer rights are strong.

Unfortunately, it's quite normal for proprietary software companies to use their customers as guinea pigs...I won't mention any names, but, it was quite standard to unleash a proprietary, turn key software product by some huge companies and the support centre was essentially a software debugging centre. Where queries and problems submitted to the support centre were really bug reporting. And the company would invariably rush release a second x.1 version once they (or really the consumer) had identified any bugs.

The reason I have never been asked for the two questions you mentioned in your post, is because Drupal is not a turn-key solution and while I can only speak for myself, my guess is Drupallers are hired for customisation & consultative services rather than developing a turn-key software product/solution. And are therefore covered by standard service agreements.

So while it's an interesting question you raised I'm not sure if you have grasped what Drupal is about.

Apologies in advance if I'm incorrect, but, your query would be more appropriate for a software development company or a hosting company, for example. And even at that level, I would guarantee you that the VCs will ensure the small print on those READ ME FIRST documents cover their proverbial butt against legal action in case something doesn't work as it should.

A typical "Drupal project" if there is such a thing is more design & consultancy based with the hosting/back end support level agreement with the host. I'm not surprised that Bryght don't provide what you mentioned.

I think most savvy clients would question the professionalism of any programmer,designer or consultant who would guarantee, in a written contract, a specific amount of hours to sort out any or all glitches, as part of an SLA - as you outlined. The words dubious and suspect springs to my mind.

hope that makes sense..

Dub