Re: Interesting coverage of our project on the SQL-Ledger-users list

[..hidden..]

> "Chris Travers" <..hidden..> 
> I would like to invite people who have any concerns about the
> community or our direction of development to come forward and voice
> those here on the list.
> 
> Best Wishes,
> Chris Travers

I would just add my two cents regarding Postgresql.  For our particular 
business, I am satisfied using Postgresql.  I also don't have an issue 
using Mozilla Firefox as our browser.  That being said, experience has 
shown me that having an application that will only run on a particular 
database server (in our case Postgresql) and/or a specific browser (i.e. 
Firefox and not IE) really limits your attractiveness.  I have seen many 
companies, especially the larger ones, who will not consider a particular 
application because it doesn't support a particular database or a 
particular browser.  For me personally, being short staffed when it comes 
to IT help, I prefer to standardized on one particular database for 
example because it is easier to be more efficient when it comes to 
learning one RDBMS than it is to learn several.  I am running into this 
issue right now as I work on an implementation of SugarCRM which runs on 
MySQL.  In my case I had to sacrifice and implement MySQL also because 
that is what SugarCRM currently runs on.  Unless you live in the database 
environment every day, it takes too much time to do such things as grant 
privileges for example since they are done differently in PostgreSQL 
compared to MySQL and always having to pull out the database admin manual 
and look it up takes time.  I would prefer becoming an expert in one RDBMS 
than trying to be mediocre in several.  My comments naturally apply to 
SugarCRM also and I believe they will quickly realize, as they try to grow 
into bigger customers, that their product won't get into many 
organizations because of this limitation.  I mentioned IE support earlier. 
 I like Firefox and that is my preferred browser, but with IE currently 
holding something like 85% of the market you will cut off a large 
percentage of your potential customers who won't consider moving to 
Firefox due to the impact it will have on their user base who would need 
to learn a new browser that is different than what they are used to using 
both at work and at home.  For an IT guy like myself, it doesn't matter. 
For a non-IT person though without much technical knowledge, this could 
create a lot of problems.  If you are satisfied with serving only small 
customers then you can afford to stick with the one RDBMS or one browser 
approach.  If you desire to grow up the food chain though, be prepared to 
support more options.  I think several larger open source ERP applications 
(i.e. Compiere, OpenBravo) have begun to realize this and have started to 
address this. 

One last point.  I just recently moved from SQL-Ledger to LedgerSMB.  A 
major reason was 1) LedgerSMBs desire to address security, address APIs to 
allow for better integration, etc., and 2) a more community model which I 
just didn't see with SQL-Ledger.  Setting up LedgerSMB was much more 
difficult than I recall setting up SQL-Ledger and I mention this to the 
development team that this is an area that needs much more focus either 
via the installation scripts, or via documentation.  Please consider this 
constructive criticism.  If I have to contact a developer very often to 
troubleshoot basic installation issues, this is very costly to LedgerSMB. 
In addition, berating a customer or potential customer (as I have seen 
Dieter do on some of his posts in the past) because they are not as up to 
speed or tech savvy in the tools that the LedgerSMB team uses is a huge 
no-no.  I am not speaking about Chris, but I must say that I was seconds 
away from trashing LedgerSMB and going to an alternative due to this type 
of treatment from one particular person.  I moved away from SQL-Ledger in 
part because I saw this there.  Seeing this Dieter-like treatment here 
just makes for bad business and very unprofessional.  I almost moved to 
OpenBravo originally, but chose not too because the move from SQL-Ledger 
to LedgerSMB just appeared to be an easier transition.  I for one would 
not tolerate one of my employees berating a customer for any reason, and I 
sure as heck won't tolerate it from someone here who is unprofessional and 
lacks an understanding of the food chain in the business world.  Once 
again, I am not referring to Chris and frankly his helpfulness in 
troubleshooting my issues is why I am still here.  But it is important to 
understand that if LedgerSMB personnel are disrespectful to their user 
base, there are plenty of other options including Quickbooks, Compiere, 
OpenBravo, etc.  I recently referred a friend of mine to LedgerSMB as a 
potential solution for his business.  Only time will tell if LedgerSMB is 
a fit for him, but it should be obvious that I and/or many others will be 
reluctant to refer business LedgerSMB's way if there is this type of 
disrespectful behavior.  I realize I haven't purchased the software, 
although I hope to be able to contribute in some way in the future as we 
grow, but that doesn't excuse this type of behavior.  I hope you keep my 
comments in mind as you grow.  I am sure this was just an isolated case 
and I am sure the leaders of this project have taken this person to the 
side and explained it.

Best Regards,
Steven Marshall

Taty Lee Boutique
11705 Jones Bridge Rd., B206
Alpharetta, GA 30005
770-410-6964

"Once you experience the stylish comfort of Brazilian-cut jeans, you will demand nothing less!"