But if you're going to stay closed source, you're asking me to just trust you that important (to me) bugs are going to get fixed fast enough. That is very hard to do.
That is the real value of open source. It's not about the money -- an extra $200 is nothing in a development budget. It's about being able to fix the bugs myself when they matter enough.
I wonder if there are any closed-source software shops that have a "pays us a premium to fix bug X first" option. Doesn't seem like it would work too well.
At a high price, you can get strong service guarantees.
At a zero price, you can use open source and manage the critical service yourself.
At a low but nonzero price, you get neither.
By that I mean, clients with budgets will opt for enterprise services. That's not necessarily fair, but humans like expensive stuff, especially when it's not their money.
The thing is, engineers who move into SaaS and try to tackle that middle ground tend to be shafted. This is why people like 'patio11 so often recommend aiming for the enterprisey folks - that's where you make a living.
Can you point to the company name? I am checking what is out there (EMRS).