Description |
For those people considering travelling down the open source road,
help is at hand. APSR offers a technical support service for both DSpace
and Fez+Fedora. The Repository Technical Support Service is for education
and research institutions that have implemented or are considering implementing
a repository service. It ensures reliable technical support for the
initial wave of repository adoption and configuration for the RQF.
Support for open source software differs from commercial software in
that there is no designated vendor to speak to. Mature open source software
projects do, however, have active technical discussion lists and tend
to form supportive communities in the higher education sector. For most
adopters of open source software, this kind of support is more than
enough, especially once the system is up and running.
During 2007, APSR is continuing to fill the gap for those who do need
more assistance during those initial stages. The Repository Technical
Support Service will help institutions with the flurry of set-up and
configuration activity leading up to RQF. This is a free service subsidised
by APSR’s funding under the Systemic Information Infrastructure.
Extensive customisation and consultation are not within the scope of
the APSR service, but may be available commercially from experienced
repository services. Assistance for that kind of support could fall
under DEST’s ASHER
scheme, details of which are forthcoming.
Into the future, users of open source repositories will receive support
from their community or from service providers at normal market rates.
This will be a step towards sustainable support for DSpace and Fez+Fedora
open source repository software. Hosted services are already available
for both Fez+Fedora and DSpace.
The tertiary sector is increasingly using open source software, particularly
in areas where ideas, requirements and (consequently) systems are still
evolving rapidly. The open source option allows flexibility of low initial
capital investment in unknown waters. If customisations are not required,
open source software can be used “out of the box”, and the
only major costs involved are the system administrators (who are likely
to be already maintaining other enterprise systems anyway). System administrators
are required for commercial software too, unless a hosting solution
is offered.
Other support options include service providers that offer commercially-based
support services for open source software. Another popular hybrid model
is for a service provider to offer hosted services for open source software.
This provides a turn-key solution, with a great exit strategy, as the
digital assets and the software are all open. Some open source projects
even offer central support in return for membership fees.
Contact:
Project Manager: Margaret
Henty
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