Working for a recent startup company which created a product and then 6
months
on told customers about it's big brother which hadn't quite been finished
and
almost died when sales dried up due to people waiting for the big brother, I
can
fully understand this.
Rgds Pete
> Paul Scott wrote:
>
>> Allen,
>>
>> On Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:08:07 -0000, Allen Bauer
>> <✉spicedham.codegear.com> wrote:
>>
>> > I hate the lack of information too. I wish I could say more. But the
>> > cold hard reality is that if we divulge too much too soon, sales of
>> > the current product tank, layoffs happen, pay is cut and we are
>> > left with less people, less time, and more work.
>>
>> ISTR a couple of years ago - when you were still
>> Borland/DevCo/CodeGear - we were constantly told that everyone in the
>> company wished they could say more (or even produce a roadmap) but we
>> customers would just have to be patient.
>>
>> Back then, of course, the sole impediment was that nasty SOX
>> legislation.
>>
>> "Autres temps, Autres moeurs" ? Or is it just "Same old, Same
>> old" ?
>>
>>
>> Turning your statement round, surely your management cannot think
>> that giving less information to your customers, will increase the
>> likelihood of them of them buying upgrades and decrease the chances
>> of them looking elsewhere for a longterm solution that they can rely
>> on?
>
> My point is that there is a balance that has to be maintained.
> Sometimes we get it right, but many times we err on the side of
> caution. You cannot "unrelease" a roadmap that gives away information
> that stalls current sales.
>
> I do know that as the new owners and management get more and more
> comfortable (remember, they're only 1.5 years into owning a product
> line with >25 year history) with the customer base and the product,
> things will change.
>
> Because Delphi is such a key peice of the company's strategy over the
> next few years, we have to be extremely diligent about when and what we
> divulge. Not only are our customers listening for this information, so
> too are the competitors.
>
> Unlike Borland, Delphi is no longer an afterthought or footnote in the
> company's strategic vision. We're no longer the whipping boy of
> quarterly reports. Now it is, "How can we leverage and build on the
> Delphi (RAD Studio) product, community, etc...?" There are many irons
> in the fire with several key projects and teams spooled up throughout
> the company. While not all of them are directly working *on* Delphi(RAD
> Studio) the product, it is involved in some manner. Given that, we
> *are* very careful to ensure we don't do *anything* that would hinder,
> or even give the perception of hindering, current sales.
>
> --
> Allen Bauer
> Embarcadero Chief Scientist
> http://blogs.embarcadero.com/abauer