You could blame the times for any increased difficulties. Today, most manufacturers prioritize reliability. Even installations and daily maintenance can require specialized knowledge most users' technical departments don't have.
Initial support is free in some cases, but in general, expect to pay.
Microsoft has several support contracts on offer. Basic technical support such as installations and incident-response services average LE 300 per hour. A contract for information services gives a client access to a Microsoft support Web site, technical briefings, support newsletters, CD-ROM subscriptions and critical problem alerts. Until now, the awareness of software support has not been as wide as Sherif Khalifa, Microsoft Egypt's technical manager, would hope. The market is still oriented to the hardware and companies can easily pay millions of pounds for a machine that is useless without software and support services.