InfoWorld has done a couple of articles on software maintenance that caught my eye: Dialing Down Software Support and Are You Paying Too Much for Software Licenses? Both of the articles look at the cost of software agreements that software vendors charge for specifically the maintenance agreements.
I've always thought that maintenance agreements were sold in a fear based manner, and not just for software. Extended warranties and other similar agreements are often added on with some sales pressure tactics. Most people don't understand that amount of use that they'll get from a product, whether it's a car or software, and they don't know what level of service or support they'll need. Companies often try to scare customers with worse case tactics (this repair might cost $1000 or our support rates are $300 an hour), and while they're not necessarily incorrect about the costs, they don't give a good breakdown on expected rates of failure or calls.
And they have this information or they wouldn't know how to price the agreements.
Software seems different in that when I've purchased software they've often assumed I'd be willing to spend 15% or 20% of the purchase price for maintenance. And not only that, but that I'd continue to spend that year after year. I've cancelled more than my share of agreements because I found I wasn't getting value.
When we buy SQL Server or other products, we don't really know what our support needs will be. I've had many instances that never required a call (or an upgrade) and many more that had only 1. I've also had some that required 10 calls in a year, which is a lot of $$.
I have always appreciated the $250 charge for a call to Microsoft for support and I've usually gotten my money's worth. Not all companies do this, many of them wanting an "agreement" in place. I can understand that since it costs money to staff a center , time to get people trained, and matching that up with the call volume can be hard. Customers certainly want to be able to get support when they need it without long wait times.
Maybe it's just something that the market works out. If you really want to ensure no waiting, but the agreement. If you can handle delays, pay as you go. I know that I'm really tempted to go without support agreements in the future. I've rarely had the need to make a claim on any type of extended warranty for any product, including software, and as long as I can afford the high costs for the few times I need it, it seems to make sense.
Steve Jones
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