 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group New Deal for the SOHO User Bryan Leech bryan@melbpc.org.au |
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0ver the last few years, as computers have become a standard part of the corporate office desk, and programs have become large, sophisticated and expensive, the home user seems to have been progressively dropped from the view of software companies. A typical word processor, spreadsheet or database has cost around $800 - often far too expensive for the average home or small business user.
Many have been forced to miss out on the powerful features of the latest "big-name" programs, and have had to be content with shareware programs (many of which, of course, are very good), or with some subset of the major programs like WordPerfect Works or Microsoft Works.
Now, at last, some of the major software companies are trying to address the needs of the small user, the so-called SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) user.
Microsoft
The first change came from Microsoft after it announced its new user-pays software servicing program. Except for problems with installation or bugs, telephone service was to become very expensive for the small user. After a large number of complaints, MS now offers Communique members five free incidents per year. As each incident was to have cost $30, this represents a $150 offer to members - a significant turnabout in attitude, and an offer that should keep most small users happy. For anyone who uses Microsoft programs (and most of us use DOS and Windows at least), the Communique program is a worthwhile investment.
Microsoft has also announced a range of price cuts, but on the major programs like Word for Windows, Access and Excel, the cuts average around only 8 percent. This means that if you want to stick with Microsoft for some reason, you will still pay a RRP $695 for Word or Excel. The situation may have changed again by the time you are reading this, for Borland has recently put the cat among the pigeons.
Borland
In a recent minor avalanche of announcements, Borland has made a number of changes, some of which are very attractive for the SOHO user.
For a start, new releases of several programs are now available. Quattro Pro 5 for both Windows and DOS ups the ante in contending for the title of World's Best Spreadsheet, with a host of new features on both platforms. Paradox for Windows has already been updated to version 1.1. Presumably this is a debugged version 1.0, although I haven't heard any specific reports of bugs. (Coincidentally, Microsoft Access has undergone a similar update.)
Of great potential interest to users are the new pricing structures and the new Borland Connection Programs.
Borland is releasing two versions of its major products - a Workgroup Edition that would typically have a price in the region around $700, and a single-user edition with a price in the vicinity of $250. For example, you can now buy Quattro Pro 5 for Windows for $195 RRP - I would assume that street prices will be even less. Paradox 1.1 for Windows has a RRP of $295. These figures represent reductions of about 75 percent on previous prices, making powerful programs available to people who could not have afforded them before. Corporate users are more commonly networked, and the Workgroup Editions of the programs that are aimed at this market have had price reductions of around 30 percent.
The Borland Connection Program is a bit like Microsoft's Communique, but operates on three tiers. Many of our readers may be interested in the Customer Connection at $50 per year, which offers a magazine, discounts on upgrades and a 008 toll-free number for Customer Service and other things (sound familiar?). Free service is limited to basic assistance. For those needing more sophisticated help, such as power users and developers, other programs are offered, at significantly higher cost.
If you are just starting out, then Borland Office, with RRP of $795, or an upgrade price of $595 (and remember, street prices will be less), will give you a Windows suite containing what may be the world's best spreadsheet, Quattro Pro 5, the relational database recently chosen as Editor's Choice in Australian Personal Computer, Paradox 1.1, and from the world's top-selling word processor company WordPerfect 5.2. By the time this article appears, WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows should be about, and rumours are that it should knock the socks off Word for Windows.
All in all, it is a time of major change in the marketing and support of high power software in Australia. Remember, Microsoft's Communique program is unique to Australia, and I suspect Borland's moves in a similar direction are also uniquely Australian.
As I implied earlier, I wouldn't be surprised if Borland's price cuts cause some rapid rethinking by Microsoft Australia, leading to similar price cuts in their range. In the end, everyone benefits.
Other Companies
This raises the question; what about the other major players? WordPerfect for Windows will be available cheaply only as part of Borland Office. Will the chiefs at WordPerfect decide to make their Windows and DOS flagship programs available to single users for, say, $200? WordPerfect has stated emphatically that it intends to maintain its standard of free service to registered users, a standard readily regarded as unmatched in the business. Such a service facility costs a lot of money to maintain - can WP afford to drop program prices and maintain product support? Time will tell.
And so far, I have not mentioned Lotus! Users of Ami Pro maintain that it surpasses both WordPerfect for Windows and Word for Windows, even though its market share remains relatively small. At the same time, while Lotus 1-2-3 lost a lot of ground in the spreadsheet market when Quattro Pro and Excel far surpassed it, latest releases from Lotus are earning renewed respect, and much of the business industry is more familiar with the name Lotus than either of the more recent upstarts.
It will be interesting to observe the impact made by Borland's aggressive marketing changes on all of the major players. One thing is certain, the changes can only have benefits for users and for the market in general. More accessible prices will reduce the incidence of pirating. If you use a pirate copy of a program you usually need to go out and spend about $80 on a book that covers the program. If you can buy a legitimate copy for around $100 extra, and get full documentation, an upgrade path and a clear conscience, then most people will choose the legal approach. And if these new prices are still too high for you, this sort of competition should force the shareware market to even higher standards. An example of this is already shown by the relational database, Wyndfields for Windows, a powerful program that would satisfy the needs of many people and which costs only US$100!
Reprinted from the November 1993 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
