PushToTest offers support agreements for TestMaker users. Under these agreements we have done everything from walking a new user through the tutorial documentation that comes with TestMaker all the way to debugging an HTTP router to see why it was not handling cookies and sessions correctly. Our support technicians are the kind of folks you would meet at any hospital emergency room - you have a problem and they have a treatment!

Open Source Software (OSS) companies have an advantage over the support you get from a commercial software publisher or service business. Your questions are answered by paid OSS technicians and by the 140,000 software engineers using TestMaker. All of these technicians and engineers have access to the TestMaker source code, documentation, and example code to help answer your issues.

An informal survey of our customers tells us that people buying OSS support agreements value the following services (in priority order):

1. Responsiveness - how quickly the OSS company gets back to you with a response, and then with an answer
2. Accessibility - how you go about reaching the OSS company. For instance, the OSS company answers your phone call immediately
3. Availability - 24 hr access, business hours only
4. Expertness - ability to solve problems
5. Extras - They receive anything in physical form (books, CDs, etc.)
6. Exclusivity - They have exclusive access to important information

Of course, sometimes OSS service delivery does not go well, especially if any of the above are poorly delivered. Value is also lost when you can get the same support without paying for it.

PushToTest is pretty typical for an OSS company offering support. Here is a summary:

1. Free peer support on the mailing list
2. Pay-per-incident help.
3. Basic Annual support contract, 12 hour response, business hours, up to 5 calls per year, includes access to knowledge base
4. Advanced Annual support contract, like previous, but 8 hour response, 24x7 availability
5. Enterprise Annual support contract, like previous, but 4 hour response, up to 25 calls per year

Please comment on the above list with your own priorities to get support.

-Frank