Hockey wrote:Software IMHO should be so simple, there is no (or very limited) need for service or support. This kind of defeats the arguments for making money from open source. So my question becomes this: "Perhaps the open source model only applies to large business?"
Many corporations won't use a product unless they can get a support contract for it - even if its completely, 100% well-designed. Its reasonable, since shareholders expect corporations to spend their money wisely. As a result, even a well-designed software package can need support contracts.
But beyond that, even for small businesses, installation, configuration, tuning, and more are all things that can offer dramatic value. Consider the yoga instructor down the road, or the small clothing shop owner across town.. they don't have any IT experience. They don't even know what the little "E" is that they click to get on the 'net. Those are people that will find substantial value in a turnkey installation and setup.
Even beyond those issues, each business is different, and needs the software tuned for their needs. Will Apache run with default settings well on most loads? Sure. But a business that gets thousands of hits a minute needs custom tuning.
Each business is different, and each software package is different. You can definitely have an easy to use product and still make money off of support and customization - even to small businesses. In fact, in many ways, there is more opportunity at the small business level. Large businesses can afford Microsoft licenses, and huge support contracts with hundreds of calls a year. Small businesses could go out of business with a single poorly timed day of downtime.
Research your market, and sell to their needs. Thats just good business.