ðÉÓØÍÏ ÓÞÁÓÔØÑ (ÐpÏÄÏÌÖÅÎÉÅ)
Victor Radchenko
А вот и само обpащение к pуководителю гpуппы pазpаботчиков VFP.
В нем указано на пpомахи в маpкетинке и позициониpовании пpодукта
на pынке, а также пожелания на будущее pазвитие.
Поставить свою подпись под обpащением можно здесь :
http://www.lmacedo.eti.br/vfp.htm
= BEGIN =
Dear Mr. Ken Levy,
The international community of VFP users, asks for a development
of a communication channel, trying to restore and to expand the
market of this programming tool.
This request is the consequence of a question that has been asked
all over the world by development groups:
What is going to be the future of our favorite tool?
This paradigm expresses that our wish is that the tool keeps growing
with a long life perspective. However, what we have noticed is that
owing to a strategy - or the lack of a strategy в_" inside the
corporate market, within the years is a reduction of the market
for VFP workers.
We all know that VFP has been improved a lot, but, we feel that its
own manufacturer has inhibited its selling. We not only believe, but
also invest in this powerful tool, nevertheless, we imagine ourselves
as species on the verge of extinction: a Microsoft fatherless.
We believe you are the one who can change this setting, getting an
answer for this question. You will count on our support, and we all
are prepared to help to change this situation.
A general view: What is missing? Where are the problems?
- On the Marketing Context
There is not a true effort to new enterprises on VFP, it is only
being used by the ones who insist on it. It is necessary to sell
the product to the companies which want to use it.
- On corporate market context:
Big corporations do not invest in a tool which the owner does
not advice its use even though it is more productive and with
a better performance than others. It is a paradox that everybody
seeks for the qualities that VFP offers, but just a little of this
amount, make use of it. One of the main causes of the reaction is
the uncertainty about its future. Nobody knows if it is going to
keep working until version 10.
- On Academic Context
Academics simply do not know VFP, it is an unknown; when someone
talks about it, here in Brazil, everybody thinks that it is an
kind of clipper. People do not know it belongs to Microsoft, and
the worst is that they are not able to imagine how it is powerful.
OBS: There are still millions of CA-clippers who have not found
about VFP yet, as a matter of fact, millions of potential customers
are being lost.
- On professional context
We have seen our colleagues leaving VFP, trying other tools such
as Delphi, Java, etc. What is, for certain, a pitiful situation,
because it is a question of survival. A few days ago, it took part,
here in Brazil, an event Which a MVP of VFP finished his lecture
advising us that if we do not adopt the NET, we are going to turn
to taxi drivers very soon. He is Les Pinter whose speech started
a commotion among VFP users.
We can say that the productivity of VFP is unique in terms of FPA,
and even so people ask:
- What tool are we going to use? We need ease and productivity.
Will be SyBase Power Builder be the solution?
- On new technologies context
We believe that some of the new technologies are not being created
to VFP use, just because this is not Microsoft intention.
- On Internet context
We feel that VFP integration into Internet can be much better,
after all, if others Xbase can, Why not VFP?
We feel through your monthly letters that you have been working
hard, but what we are trying to show is that, maybe, we are doing
something the wrong way. The letters are being addressed to VFP
users, however, what is actually need, is to introduce VFP to new
users. It is also necessary to develop the interest of the companies
in using VFP as a development solution tool. We need to sell the
product and show its qualities to the ones who does not know it.
In short, We know you are truing to defend VFP and to make it grow,
so listen to the advice of VFP users from all over the world. If
you start this fight, the number of people that will take part in
it will impress you. Letв_Ts discuss about the problem and its possible
solution.
We need to do something before it is too late due to the fact that
we want to keep growing with VFP and you can be our leader in this
enterprise.
Sincerely, ...
= END =
C уважением, Victor.