Hi David,
I've been reading the posts from you and Barry, and while I understand what
you're saying, there are aspects that leave me confused, and are confusing
others.
Normally, when a software product version changes from 3.0 to 4.0, that
represents a significant change in features, not in pricing or pricing
schedule. When a company wants to market the same product with two
different pricing schemes, they use other way to distinguish the choices,
such as "Declude Protection Service" and "Declude Protection Software". In
your case, you are calling the current set of products, when supported by
SAs, as "Version 3.0", and the same set of programs, when purchased as part
of a subscription service, as "Version 4.0". So your NAMING scheme runs
contradictory to the 25 years standards of the software industry. I won't
say that no one has done it the way you are, but I've never seen it and I've
been around a long time.
So the first big problem is that you are using 3.0 and 4.0 to identify two
different pricing schemes, and all of users keep thinking that there must be
also be feature differences (because to us, that's what 3.0 => 4.0 means).
So people (including myself) have a hard time understanding that there is no
functional difference between 3.0 and 4.0. Moreover, most of the us suspect
that there will be more differences in features in the future.
The second problem is your new pricing scheme. All of us existing Declude
owners have our SAs, so presumably it's not an issue for us. However, I
think most of us expect that you will eventually try to force us out of SAs
into annual licensing, which we don't want. Moreover, most of us worry that
your new pricing scheme will not be accepted by your customer base, and that
could lead to the death of Declude. So while I may not be directly impacted
by version 4.0, I have good reason to worry about the future success of
Declude and whether I can expect you to continue to provide a growing and
satisfactory product. I may have to look at alternatives just to protect my
future.
The third problem that you haven't addressed at all is your poor timing.
You know that the vast majority of your users are current/former IMail users
who are still stinging from their fiasco, and yet you walk into the same
stupid trap, with the same lack of forethought and customer communications.
You also do this at a time when a lot of your clients are upset about a lack
of true improvements (how about just a stable, current product??). So you
have all of these customers who are losing patience over your upgrades, who
are still upset at Ipswitch, and then you ambush them with this new scheme.
Any wonder people are upset?
I really suggest you take a good, long look at the troubles experienced by
Ipswitch over the last year, and decide if you really want to go through all
that. And if you do, then change the names to something besides 3.0 and
4.0.
Ben Bednarz
BC Web
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Barker" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, February 12, 2006 8:37 AM
Subject: RE: [Declude.Virus] [Declude.JunkMail] Declude 3.0 / 4.0
Let me quote myself on point 5.
"EXCEPT that 4.0 runs as a single product with Declude EVA PRO, Junkmail
PRO
and Hijack. Where as Version 3.0 still supports 3 individual products."
As to NO major differences, there are NO major differences in
functionality
but rather minor differences which have to do with integration into
SmarterMail 3.0 which makes it a little easier for New Customers which I
will explain in greater detail with the notes I promised in point 7, but
again these differences do NOT effect existing customers.
David B
www.declude.com
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Don Brown
Sent: Sunday, February 12, 2006 11:23 AM
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Declude.Virus] [Declude.JunkMail] Declude 3.0 / 4.0
Saturday, February 11, 2006, 9:47:07 AM, David Barker
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
DB> [Snip]
DB> 5. With regards to Version 3.0 and 4.0 there is NO major difference
DB> in functionality except that 4.0 runs as a single product with
DB> Declude EVA PRO, Junkmail PRO and Hijack. Where as Version 3.0 still
DB> supports 3 individual products.
DB> [Snip]
DB> 7. I am pulling together some additional release notes on a
DB> comparison between version version 3.0 and 4.0 which I hope to have
DB> available next week.
DB> David B
DB> www.declude.com
DB> [Snip]
Items 5 & 7 are contradictory, to the extent that no comparison, as
promised
in 7, would be needed, if the only difference was, as quoted in 5.
----
Don Brown - Dallas, Texas USA Internet Concepts, Inc.
[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.inetconcepts.net
(972) 788-2364 Fax: (972) 788-5049
----
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