The Response of the DC Area
Users Group to Business Objects:
We appreciate the things you are doing to lend structure to the support
provided our users group from Business Objects. Your
perseverance, response and dedication to our steering committee has
been nothing shy of the best! However, we do have some concerns with
policies and direction taken most recently in a few areas.
Primarily, the restrictions directed toward independent trainers are an
unfair practice that is causing significant concern among our users.
Recent licensing language is targeting these independent trainers and
authors of courseware and books relating to your product sets.
This flies in the face of a free economy that promotes free expression
and free enterprise. Authors are being restricted from
using screenshots or face penalties for not paying additional royalties
to Business Objects to convey educational concepts relating to the most
effective use of your products. Likewise, additional fees are
being assessed from between $4,000 and $20,000 for independent
educators to conduct off-site classrooms. These fees are above
and beyond the standard requirement to license each seat in the
classroom. Additionally, verbiage in the agreement calls for
instructors to refrain from offering any constructive criticism of
Business Objects products. These restrictions only serve to
alienate the huge user base that Business Objects inherited when they
acquired Crystal Decisions. Furthermore, now; we read things like
the [new UG Restrictions]
Hopefully, this does not apply to the highly professional educators
that we have invited to speak at our recent meetings. Their mere
presence has significantly contributed to elevating our attendance
threefold. Their courseware, books, and tips and techniques are
invaluable to our users across a diverse organizational array
throughout our National Capitol Region that includes commercial,
technical as well as federal, state, and local government agencies.
Ultimately, this clamping down on affordable, highly qualified, and
dedicated independent trainers will hurt Business Objects in their
quest to surpass their competition as the premier Business Intelligence
provider. Organizations are looking for business solutions, tools that
support, and vendors they can trust will continue to be committed to
their cause. The recent attack on independent trainers is beginning to
erode that trust.
As we see it, Business Objects is in a prime position to make
remarkable gains in the BI market by providing the most comprehensive
and robust solution across the enterprise reporting space.
However, Business Objects must be very sensitive to their users
because these users are the ambassadors for your product offerings
within each of their respective organizations. Consequently, they
carry your marketing message to primary decision makers in each of
their organizations. You see, that is the very essence of their
business as decision support analysts. The user communities
enthusiasm and expertise in using Business Objects Enterprise
Reporting Solution is what often times drives their senior management
toward acquisition decisions. To lose their edge on expertise with the
product(s) by losing highly effective, affordable, and competitive
training alternatives via independent trainers will only serve to
diminish BI sales for Business Objects in the end. Collectively, we can
ill afford to take this path!
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