Alpha has Changed?

Well, if here is ONE thing I have learned over the years, is there is only one recipe for success: put your customer first!

And at Alpha's they always did. In the past, doing business with Alpha has always been nice. But I guess over the years they have found too little growth to their likings. They have never settled for "a position" that could fit their product. They always wanted to be in the "big league". Where they simply did not belong. Now, there is no problem if you try to get higher on the ladder, but always remember to put your customers first.

Now, it seems Alpha has completely left their own user base and wanders out there trying to find its way to the big league, forgetting all about what it is that their actual customers want, trying hard to invent new wheels that they think their imaginary customers want. You can't live of imaginary customers. You need real customers. Everybody can tell you that it is not very smart throwing your old shoes away before you have new ones. Nevertheless, that's exactly what they did.

They could have grown inside their own niche. Their old customer base would have been very happy with a further enhanced desktop from WCD, so that they could truly go for "develop once, publish anywhere".
Now, that's simply not the case. You can't develop a desktop app, and tomorrow publish it on the web. With WCD that would have been possible.

WCD isn't even their invention! To be truthful, it's actually mine and Ken's. We invented not only the name "WCD", but also the way of use, the method. At the point we invented it, you could not even use it since there were a lot of errors, or things that wouldn't work because they never anticipated this type of usage of their components. At that point, the components were not even published to the shadow if you drew a shadow!! So we had that all fixed in good communication with Selwyn. 

But instead of them using WCD to get re-connected to their old and loyal userbase, they didn't and simply moved forward in their delusional quest for the corporate customer, that will never come. 
If we all weren't affected by it, it would almost be something to laugh about over a beer. Now, it's rather sad instead. Sad for all of those people who have given their support to Alpha for that many years.

There is, at this point in time, where members are thrown of the forum, censored, only because they have the best for Alpha Five in mind and speaking their minds, only one way to go: somewhere else. Move forward.

Critics of course became more harsh when they did not even react to the first people writing how they felt about it. It simply seemed they had no interest in what their customers said whatever. Many have repeated that feeling on the IADN forum: they felt left out, ignored. And yes, that's when people get disappointed, angry, what not. And then, critics will become more harsh. It seems Alpha does not know how to deal with communication issues.

Many times Richard has made promises on the forum that were not kept. Like the moment he said that he would make an announcement to the long time users soon about changes that would be significant to long time users. He never did make that announcement and members had to read it from the site at the same time the general public could read it. Changes in the licensing policy were nowhere near "significant". Quite on the contrary. And that again was felt like a slap in the face by many. They simple don't know how to deal with customers. In that many years of operations, one would think they got it by now. But they don't.
They are still making very basic mistakes and are losing customers over that.

In the end, they made some adjustments but the pricing structure of the app server is still unworkable, as Dave also said. If you are an independent developer and create database solutions for customers, you would need to tell your customer they would also need a subscription (or perpetual license) of some proprietary app server at huge cost besides your own costs. That won't fly in today's market. There actually is a crisis going on which they completely ignore at Alpha's.

The fact they have changed their policies so often during the product life of A5 shows how little understanding they have about their own customers. Instead, they are hunting ghosts. For me, it's enough already: I won't purchase any of their products anymore as long as this is all going on. It's way to unprofessional for me. Competitors have passed Alpha in several ways a long time ago. Looking around in the market has learned me at least that. Several other products are out there that have very strong assets going on for them. For now, I like Outsystems best.

Dave, an answer to your question first: Yes. You can use WCD to create apps over the internet that do not need to use the Application Server. I have successfully finished tests together with Ken doing so. However, you would only be able to do so if you KNEW your users. So, not for the general public who you don't know as a user (yet). So, its use is limited I would say to intranet applications. On the other hand, regardless of this limit, many apps are used that way, so, in most cases this would actually work great.

Furthermore to WCD: the "old" desktop tooling of Alpha Five I consider ancient and obsolete. Many of it breaths the atmosphere of Windows 3.1 styling. Like the calendar object. Many other things like the embedded browse I consider unstable and a source for trouble. Obviously, Alpha is incapable of modernising the desktop section. Either they don't have the source code of it (because much seems third party stuff) or they don't see it good business to invest in it. Anyway, they are not investing in it as we see. Using WCD they would have struck 2 flies in one hit: [1] they already have the components so could simply re-use them and [2] they could have had a successor to the desktop section with little added effort, in which way they had been able to continue services their desktop customers who now more-and-more spread out and look elsewhere. They just had to invest a bit of time going over some nasty little problems that are still attached to WCD which would have been a minor investment. They would have then had a true product according the adagium "Develop Once, Publish Anywhere".They did not. So no they are stuck with a product section that already is almost beyond worth saving, and they missed a valuable opportunity to improve service levels with little effort.

"Why not?" is the question. Well, I think it is very simple: it took them by surprise! THEY did not invent it, WE did! So at the moment we came out in the open with "WCD", Richards mouth fell open from surprise. He never guessed that this could become a successor of the desktop section. But at THAT point however, all decisions were already made, and all investments were directed towards mobile already, chasing the customer they did not have. At that time (as I see it) they could see the WCD boat sailing, but were unable to get aboard. They simply missed the boat there. Lack of vision is one of the managerial misses I have seen a lot at Alpha Software. Illusions they have enough, but vision based on the real world they don't have. They are missing connection with their own customers. I once read somewhere that one of the new investors decided to come aboard Alpha Software because of the good relationship it had with its customers. Well, reading that I could not help myself asking if that was the same company that just threw out a bunch of longtime loyal customers just because they were willing to offer critics on the companies policies. Was that the company that was supposed to have "a good relationship with its customers"? A company that did not respond to their customers questions and worries openly spoken out on the forum for longer than half a year? I guess they see Alpha Software through very different eyes than most users do. Once their eyes will open, they will probably have lost a considerable amount of their investment.

Ted,

Pointing at the forum might not work for much longer. They have already started the prctice of deleting threads/post that are remotely pesimistic and sometimes for absolutely no reason. Threads and posts just disappear.

Wht I am saying is, it IS getting worse.

Well, the traffic on there when they released v8 or v9 (I think) went sky high at over 500. They have never had that heavy of traffic since. What I see posted now is very sparse and mostly to do with people having problems with what are really bugs(mostly browse).

A lot of the people signing on now are thinking they can snap their fingers to have a database web page and phone/tablet at immediate disposal.

Wait until they find the real story and then get shot in the butt by the price of the was/as. That is not to beat them up, but you still need a windows dedicated server or vps for it to run on for a true web site. Those are not really cheap either for a small guy.

You could both be right. What I need is an Iron Man costume and to turn up on the doorstep!
I have been looking at alternatives like InDe and WinDev, so once the summer is out of the way I will have more time to study them.
Not looked at Outsystems yet, but I will.
How's the hip Dave?