How your feedback shapes the way we support open source software

At Canonical, we firmly believe that delivering an outstanding, customer-centric support experience is impossible without our customers’ help. Collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement are at the heart of open source, and we strive to apply those same principles to our support journey. 

With that in mind, over the past year, we’ve been busy gathering  your feedback on the redesign of our support portal. We want to make sure the portal meets your evolving needs, and delivers the best possible support experience for your open source software. Your insights drive us forward, and this year, we’ll focus on incorporating your valuable feedback while continuing to refine the experience. In this blog, we’ll summarize what we’ve heard from you, and how we plan to act on your suggestions. Of course, improvement is an ongoing process, so new year, new survey: we’d love to hear from you.

What you told us

Customer feedback has been instrumental in shaping our journey. Many of you appreciated the cleaner and more modern design of the new portal, describing it as “sleek and simple,” “faster,” and “better organized.” Comments like “It looks fantastic,” “Easier to navigate,” and “More user-friendly” affirm that we’re moving in the right direction.

However, we recognize there’s room for improvement. Concerns about usability, performance, and missing functionality stood out, including challenges with file uploads, text formatting, and ticket management. Some users noted:

• Functionality gaps: “Can’t see uploaded files,” “Formatting is lost in tickets,” and “Missing key features like markdown support.”
• Performance issues: “Extremely slow response UI,” “Tedious login process,” and “Delayed actions.”
• Usability challenges: “Too much white space,” “Hard to parse information,” and “I prefer the old portal for its practicality.”

Acting on your feedback

We hear you. In 2025, our focus will be twofold:

1. Addressing immediate concerns: We’re already working to improve performance, and already implemented a new design to improve the clarity of ticket views. Enhancements to the knowledge base usability, and seamless navigation are high priorities.
2. Engaging you in continuous improvement: Your voice remains crucial. To ensure ongoing refinement, we’re launching a new feedback survey to capture your thoughts as we roll out updates.

Our commitment is simple: to make the support portal not just visually appealing but truly functional and efficient. We value every piece of feedback, whether positive or critical, as it helps us align with your expectations and needs.

Let’s build together

We believe great design is never static. It’s an iterative process built on trust and open dialogue. As we continue this journey, we invite you to share your feedback and be part of shaping the tools you rely on every day. 

Thank you for being an integral part of this evolution. Together, we’ll ensure the support portal serves you better, aligning with our shared values of innovation and openness.

Explore the updates, share your feedback in our new survey, also linked in the footer of the Support portal, and let’s keep improving — together. Get access to the support portal with Ubuntu Pro, the most comprehensive subscription for open-source software security and support.