On 19 Jan 2007 12:12:34 -0800, Karen Hill <karen_hill22@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Alan Hodgson wrote:
> > On Thursday 18 January 2007 15:54, Steve Atkins <steve@blighty.com> wrote:
> > > Anyone else get spam from EnterpriseDB today, talking about
> > > "Postgresql Support Services"?
> > >
> >
> > yep. You really would think that even the marketing weenies might know
> > better by now.
>
> I do think that the unsolicited email was not an effective marketing
> technique at all. Yet, I do not consider it on the same level as "SPAM"
> (even though it may fit that description) because I understand that
> many of the developers at that company are actively contributing to
> PostgreSQL. The reality is that postgres _is_ open source which makes
> it difficult to create a viable business model because most people will
> just download postgresql for free and get support on the mailing lists.
>
> What I think it suggests is that the company is having some financial
> difficulties.
>
> The sad thing is that in order for PostgreSQL to remain competitive, it
> probably needs paid developers working on it. Oracle and the rest have
> teams of professionals working on their RDBMS software 8 or more hours
> per day. It is naive to think that someone coming home after work
> spending 2 hours a day can compete with a professional team working
> full time.
>
> I think a good business market would be PostgreSQL hosting. Solaris
> 10 with PostgreSQL on a Zone. Maybe another server with OpenBSD. They
> could then upsell their support to those hosted sites that have growing
> traffic.
>
> As for mass emailing, I think instead they should create a newsletter
> they send out to subscribers. It could be filled with useful tips and
> ideas (at the bottom they could provide their contact information and
> services provided). This way, people would look forward to reading
> their material and have positive associations of the company.
>
> Just my 2 cents
>
> Regards,
> Karen
oracle sucks :-)
merlin