Dell's FOSS SMB Strategy: Support Needs to Be Included
by Sam Dean - Jun. 22, 2009Comments (1)- Related Blog Posts
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Recently, we wrote about Dell's intent to bundle open source applications on computers for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The pre-configured "SMB-in-a-box" software bundles are targeted to make it easier for customers to become familiar with and use open source applications and platforms. As InfoWorld noted recently, though, Forrester and other market researchers have found that SMBs are apphrehensive about open source. Will Dell succeed with its strategy, and could it build support businesses around the offerings?
 As InfoWorld noted in its recent story:Â
"The Forrester study found that more than half of SMBs (57 percent) also expressed concern that open-source software would be complex and hard to adopt, but only 32 percent of enterprises expressed a similar sentiment. In addition, 68 percent of SMBs cited the availability of service and support for open-source software as a concern, compared with 47 percent of enterprises."
In other words, SMBs--Dell's exact target market for its open source strategy--appear to be more wary of open source than large enterprises are. The two findings cited by Forrester, one about complexity and the other about support, are close relatives of each other. All businesses want support and solutiuons to problems when implementing and running software.
That's why it may behoove Dell to offer free open source applications that have support available. Many commercial open source companies have a Red Hat-like business model, where software is free, and support costs a small amount relative to proprietary software support plans. Dell could also support open source applications on its own. SMBs, unlike large enterprises, often don't have dedicated I.T. personnel to turn to when there is a problem.
As the number two PC manufacturer behind Hewlett-Packard, Dell's "SMB-in-a-box" strategy could do a lot to encourage adoption of open source. Support, though, is likely to be the biggest challenge Dell faces with its strategy.
