Automattic Provides Enterprise Support for WordPress

Automattic announced this week the Automattic Support Network which will provide enterprise-level support for large-scale users of WordPress and WordPress MU (multi user). WordPress is a popular open source blog platform that has had great success, particularly in the past year.

Matt Mullenweg, Chief BBQ Taste Tester of Automattic, said that while support from the WordPress.org support forums is great, “some big companies and enterprise folks are uncomfortable with volunteer support, and want (and insist) on paying someone before deploying a product.” Some big companies like the New York Times, CNET, and About are already using WordPress to power their blogging efforts. I expect this should result in a few more high-profile companies deploying WordPress powered blogs in the near future. And if people are lining up to pay you to provide support for a product that is already incredibly easy to use, why wouldn’t you do it?

I reallly like when WordPress makes moves to increase its acceptance and use. I’m a big fan of WP and use it quite a bit myself for personal projects (we’re even using it at Sundog for some of our clients). Even though companies like the NYT have embraced it, I can understand some companies’ reluctance to take the leap. Some IT departments and managers are used to paying for support and expect that level of commitment from their vendors. They need to have a service like Automattic Support Network to make them feel comfortable. Even if they end up not needing or using it, they can have the peace of mind knowing it’s there if they need it.

Along with their new Support Network, Automattic is also responsible for: WordPress; WordPress.com, Askimet, a comment and trackback SPAM solution; and bbPress, open source forum software.