| Steven J. Serenska 2005-04-18, 8:23 pm |
| Pardon me for the following rant, but here's something that has always
driven me crazy about Sybase.
I just learned about the concept of an "Authenticated Engine License"
from an older post on this newsgroup. Against my better judgment, I
attempted to call Sybase to find out how much such a license would cost.
If you think that Sybase would be willing to tell me, or point me to a
resource, white paper, cost schedule, PDF, etc. where I could look up
the price, you would be wrong.
I have used the SQLA Runtime Engine with quiet success for almost 10
years. It is quick, light, robust, and cheap (i.e., $99/unlimited
distribution). It does, however, have a host of limitations (e.g., no
DDL statements, stored procs, triggers, etc.). These limitations keep
our developers dancing in order to get around them. As a result, I
continuously monitor this newsgroup and Sybase's website looking for
licensing alternatives.
I called Sybase a moment ago and asked the following question:
"Can you please let me know the pricing schedule for an
Authenticated Engine License"?
This relatively straightforward question devolved into a 10-minute
interview with a marketing *pre-screener* (i.e., not someone who could
actually help me). When I thought that the questions/answers were going
on too long, I interrupted her and said: "Excuse me. You have a
customer who has his hand on his checkbook, and a desire to buy your
product. Please tell me how much it costs."
She replied: "It's not that simple. It depends. That's why I have to
ask you these questions."
I don't like haggling over the price of a software license any more than
I like hagging over a used car, so I said, "Please just have someone
call me."
Would SQL Anywhere enjoy much greater popularity if people could figure
out how to buy it? Would SQL Anywhere enjoy much greater popularity if
the license acquisition process resembled "horse trading" a whole lot less?
I think so.
Thanks for listening.
Steven J. Serenska
P.S. The Sales Rep called while I was writing this post. The good news
is that I received a quick response. The bad news is I still doesn't
know how much it will cost for an Authenticated Engine License.
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