SourceLabs Delivers Free Self-Support Software
by Sam Dean - Mar. 18, 2008Comments (0)- Related Blog Posts
- Will Open Source Support Providers Ride a Government Gravy Train?
- Training and Support: Still Key to Enterprise Open Source Adoption
- Credativ Offers Support for Virtually Any Open Source App or Platform
- The Linux Box's Elizabeth Ziph Discusses the Convergence of Customers, Contributions and Code
- On Open Source, the Services Model, and Long-Term Software Quality
Could automated software support solutions come to the rescue? The jury's still out on that, but I was interested in today's announcement from SourceLabs regarding new Linux and Java self-support tools. They're essentially aimed at getting people who use open source software tools to share information within a software environment so that known problems can be identified and solved.
You can download a free beta version of SourceLabs' Self-Support tools now. I also recommend watching the 4-minute demo that the company has put online.
"A key element in SourceLabs' offering is sophisticated searching against a massive repository of application performance data and issues to help rapidly resolve problems," says Michael Azoff, Senior Analyst at the Butler Group, in a statement. The software suite uses algorithms and predictive analysis tools to sort through thousands of new data points daily pertaining to particular applications to identify risks or patches.
Of course, this class of support tool requires active reporting from many people using popular open source applications to make the repository of support information useful. For that reason, if SourceLabs' self-support tools gain any traction they probably will do so with popular open source applications and operating systems. Still, when it comes to support for open source software, bring on whatever we can get.
It's also worth noting that SourceLabs has a fledgling social network for open source users called Swik.net. Swik.net doesn't yet appear to have the critical mass of postings it needs to become an essential tool for open source users, but the idea of a really teeming social network for open source users seems to be a good one, especially since it could help users support each other. The various community forums for popular applications are useful along these lines, but it would be interesting to see a really successful open source social network emerge.
Do you know of any good solutions for getting free support for open source software?
Comments
