System Administration

Making the Sale Possible

Joel Sposky has made FogBugz more useful:

Remember when I wrote that “smart companies try to commoditize their products’ complements?” We decided to take some of our own advice, here, so as of today, FogBUGZ can be run on top of MySQL, which is free, in addition to Microsoft SQL Server, which is expensive.

For ISVs, having requirements can kill a sale. If your layered product does not run on the layers I already have in-house, why would I buy it? This goes for products that sit on Oracle just as much as on Microsoft SQL Server. Of course, if the acquisition cost is low, as with MySQL, then I may be tempted to invest in something unfamiliar.

If it passes one critical test: Can I install and run it in my environment?

An on-line demonstration does not cut the mustard. If I cannot get my hands on the wheel, no sale. The test drive will get your foot in the door; without it, don't even bother knocking.

However, you had better hope that your installation procedure is good. If the installation is painful, I'm inclined to disbelieve your marketing literature. No install, no sale.

3:48:36 PM # Google It!
categories: System Administration