RE: Machine and System Information on one report compliments ofInovis TrustedLink EDI

Interesting insight. Valuable points!

-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of DrFranken
Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 7:38 AM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: Re: Machine and System Information on one report, compliments
ofInovis TrustedLink EDI

Sadly this is the standard path:

1) Some folks get an idea and write some software. They are
enthusiastic, they write good stuff, they are cheap. Their customers get

good support because they care about the product and their customers.
Features are added rapidly and pricing remains reasonable. Upgrade
charges are minimal or non-existent so long as you have a support
contract. The company does well and is well liked.

2) Somebody offers the founders a bunch of money. They take it. The new
owners have a lot of debt to service or a large investment to recoup.
Either way many good folks lose their jobs, support suffers, new
features go the way of the dodo bird and prices skyrocket. Because they
often don't know the platform, pricing and support rules make the new
owners look like idiots. In one case a customer of mine was told
$1,300,000 to step up a whopping, ginourmous, humongous, 30 (Yes Thirty)

CPW. This was more than double what they had paid in 12 years as a
customer including all acquisition, support, and training costs.

3) New installs fall to near zero. Customers drain away as they get the
new pricing or can't get new features.

So my rule: If your software provider has been purchased watch for these

symptoms and be ready with a new solution when you detect them.

Are you listening: Help Systems? Softlanding? Inovis? BPCS? Infor? And
the list goes on....