Our colleague, Kartik Subbarao of HP, laid out his view of why HP converted to OpenLDAP from their previous proprietary Directory technology. Symas is quite convinced that this transition would not have occurred without its strong commercial technical support capability. Kartik is more eloquent on those reasons. Kartik’s blog entry over at HP’s FOSSBazaar tells the story in a tone consistent with the story he tells at many public speaking engagements.
Symas provides the technical expertise and support underlying HP’s global Enterprise Directory. They continue to be a demanding and aggressive customer with enormous activity against their Directory. It is by no means the largest OpenLDAP Directory we work with but it may be the most mission-critical and is certainly the most mission-critical for an industry leader. We also provide technical support through HP’s commercial Technical Support arm, world-wide, establishing a global competitor to our own Technical Services arm. That has confused some people.
Actually, we find that the largest customers are more comfortable relying on HP. As we talk to the biggest enterprises, they are often more comfortable considering HP. The more mission-critical the Directory, however, the more likely they want to work with Symas directly. The global reach of HP, its 24×7 presence, its ability to do Technical Support in virtually any significant language, and the like appeal to one audience. Access to Symas’s expertise, directly, without that global security blanket appeals to another. We can’t imagine too many who want both. But if we run into someone who wants both, we’re pretty sure we can work that out too.
Meanwhile, the HP endorsement from Kartik feels right and good and we appreciate his posting it.
