From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.6 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_40,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,4509214aa8b1885b X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: "Marin D. Condic" Subject: Re: GNAT Support Costs Date: 2000/01/24 Message-ID: <388C8263.B1936634@quadruscorp.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 576969203 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit References: <388A508F.B5BB19D@acenet.com.au> <388B803A.4DC86714@quadruscorp.com> <388be7b7.0@news.pacifier.com> Organization: Quadrus Corporation X-Sender: "Marin D. Condic" (Unverified) X-Server-Date: 24 Jan 2000 16:48:58 GMT Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Mime-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 2000-01-24T16:48:58+00:00 List-Id: DuckE wrote: > > I believe the relatively high cost of support for GNAT for small projects is > an indication that ACT is not "hungry" for paying customers. I view this as > a sign that Ada Core is a healthy company. > Or, they have made a strategic decision to address only the "high end" of the market. (Rolls Royce did not market a Yugo-esque vehicle, eh?) I can understand how someone would decide that the small projects & little guys will not generate enough revenue to make it worth the time you will put in supporting them. Without having a set of numbers to work with, I couldn't possibly say with any certainty if it would pay to try to provide lesser levels of support. What I *could* say is this: When I was at Pratt & Whitney, we might have paid the large cost of ACT support for an embedded compiler (A market they are not addressing - at least not from my experience. Things may be changing since last it was an issue for me.) for an engine control or similar "mission critical" products. We would not consider that sort of price tag for compilers we were using to build support tools on PCs & Workstations. We would simply live with the bugs & find ways around them while developing in-house experience on how to get the compiler to do what we wanted. Had ACT been able to offer me "X hours of telephone support for $1000" I might have been able to get that kind of money and certainly could have used it. I could not justify the full-up price tag and didn't need all of the services. (Updates and bug-fixes for a compiler that basically already works well just wouldn't make sense for building support tools.) ACT may have decided they didn't want that business, but that doesn't mean there aren't lots of people who would be willing to give that business to *someone*. The question would be if that segment of the market can be addressed in a way that is profitable. MDC -- ============================================================= Marin David Condic - Quadrus Corporation - 1.800.555.3393 1015-116 Atlantic Boulevard, Atlantic Beach, FL 32233 http://www.quadruscorp.com/ m c o n d i c @ q u a d r u s c o r p . c o m Visit my web site at: http://www.mcondic.com/ "Capitalism without failure is like religion without sin." -- Allan Meltzer, Economist =============================================================