~ 90% BPCS customer shrink // IBM i + INFOR + 4.05CD + ERP LX

<vendor>

Hi Bryce .... 10K could be in the ballpark ... but INFOR is now counting
the population residing in a larger basket of ERP solutions ... not
just BPCS or ERP LX. They probably invite 10K companies to their INFOR
user meeting(s). The denominator for the 90% wild guess in my note
below is only the +/- ~ 16,500 sites on BPCS 5.x, 4.x, or 3.x as of
just before the Y2K upheaval started.

Peace,
Milt Habeck
Owner
Unbeaten Path
mhabeck@xxxxxxxxxx



From: Bryce Martin
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2010 12:42 PM
To: BPCS ERP System
Subject: ~ 90% BPCS customer shrink // IBM i v6r1 + 4.05CD + ERP LX + INFOR

Well, I'm not sure where you get the data to populate your
database Milt, but Infor claimed to us that they had over
10,000 installations. That would certainly show some shrink,
but not 90%.

Thanks
Bryce Martin




From: Milt Habeck @ unpath.com
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2010 11:38 AM
To: BPCS user group
Subject: ~ 90% BPCS customer shrink // IBM i v6r1 + 4.05CD + ERP LX + INFOR

Back in the 1997-98 era, SSA claimed roughly >16,500 BPCS customers (or
maybe they meant installed sites ... that was never made clear). It's far
from precise math, but based on movements in the contact database
we use to sell our ERP LX + BPCS bolt-ons and services, I'll take a wild
guess there are less than 1,750 installed BPCS + ERP LX sites still
standing. Shucks.

In my humble opinion, part of that 90% shrink has to be laid at the door
of how SSA/SSA-GT/Infor (INFOR) negotiate(d) with their customers. I
have heard dozens of first-party testimonies about flamboyant charges
and fees invented by INFOR .... invented from thin air. I recall one
company president at a furniture place who was enormously infuriated
by the bill for a new key. He decided to leave BPCS at that moment. I
think there's still a dent in his office ceiling right below where he first
saw the quote.

The old SSA software license agreements I've seen promise "perpetual
enjoyment" of the software. That promise was made into a market
which has always been typified by machine churning and operating
system upgrades. Those SLAs carry no language about charging for a key
..... and if challenged in a courtroom, I don't think a judge would invent
that language. Judges interpret contracts or throw contracts out .... they
don't write new lines into contracts. Doesn't "perpetual enjoyment"
include supporting moves like CISC to RISC and v5 to v6? Shucks.

I am NOT an attorney .... but in my experience ..... companies which
initiate legal research in response to a flamboyant INFOR quote end up
with a much, much better $ deal. INFOR doesn't want a legal precedent.
And, they know if an action ends up filed, a court would grant temporary
injunctions/fixes/key(s) pending resolution on the grounds of
manufacturing enterprise employment continuity. Contact me off-line
for details.

Net/net .... the implosion of the BPCS base has been a very sad thing for
us to witness. Unbeaten Path was founded 19.x years ago to help BPCS
users. It's hard to prosper when 90% of the market disappears. So,
strategically we must go elsewhere. A clever/unique new product we've
invented for IBM i/iSeries is now slated for installation at an alpha site.
(The functionality of the new product is in no way limited to just INFOR's
product line)

If your company is thinking of going elsewhere too, here's some practical
tips on "how to escape BPCS well" --->
www.unbeatenpath.com/up-a-notch/leavingBPCS/departure-advice.pdf

Warm regards and Merry Christmas,

Milt Habeck
Owner
Unbeaten Path
(888) 874-8008
+262-681-3151
mhabeck@xxxxxxxxxx


P.S. --- if you want to hear details about the critical turning
points that, in my opinion, decisively changed SSA's
trajectory (BPCS v6.0.0.0 and v7.0.0.0), give me a ring.


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