Features Subscriptioned into Services Are Bad For You

Software publishers have been struggling with a problem for many years now.  We all know about it, and hate to talk about it. It is when the previous or current version of your product becomes the worst competitor for the next version you want to release. What you have right now (or even in a previous version) fulfills all the basic needs of your customers; your customers are so satisfied that they feel little compunction to upgrade.  Combine this with a growing domination in your market space, and suddenly you find yourself with far more upgrade customers than new customers, and a lot of those upgrade customers may want to skip an upgrade or two. Continue reading Features Subscriptioned into Services Are Bad For You

Microsoft Gambles on Subscriptions in Office 365 and Office 2013

Ever since the introduction of the Office ribbon in Office 2007, I have begun to think Microsoft has a secret soft spot for open source software. No action prior to this had motivated me more to look at open source offerings. With Office 365, the version associated with Windows 8, Microsoft again provides sufficient motivation to look at alternatives*. Continue reading Microsoft Gambles on Subscriptions in Office 365 and Office 2013