FROM: SMe Software, 10464 N. Government Way #2, Hayden, Idaho 83835
CONTACT: Ramona Grissom, CEO, 877-762-7766
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
What Does Microsoft Vista
Mean for Your Manufacturing Business?
Microsoft has spent millions of dollars touting their newest operating system, Microsoft Vista. So what does Vista mean for manufacturers and their ERP software?
“Honestly, not a whole lot,” says Ramona Grissom, CEO of SMe Software, home of SMARTer Manager ERP. “Most companies have updated to Server 2003 already, and Vista isn’t a server operating system anyway,” meaning it would only be used on individual computers, not loaded onto your entire network system.
“Software updates can get really expensive, really fast,” says Grissom. “And sometimes it’s just not clear what the benefit is. Lots of bells and whistles, but not a whole lot of useful improvements,” she adds. “Manufacturers are busy running their businesses—and it takes up a lot of time to keep up with every little development in software technology and decide which upgrade is necessary and which isn’t. So when we release a new version of SMARTer Manager, we make sure that it’s a substantial improvement over our old version; that it has the improvements our customers asked for; and that it’s in-line with the advancing technology of Microsoft, because it’s still the international standard.”
“This push for Vista is a great example of why ‘open-source programs,’ like Linux or FirebirdSQL, are such a smart choice,” says Eldon Renner, Senior Developer at SMARTer Manager. “With open source, updates are released far less frequently. That’s the basic concept,” he continues. “Updates aren’t released for-profit, so the developers make sure the new version really is better than the old one—and that it has no bugs.”
“With our next release of SMARTer Manager, we’re moving to a FirebirdSQL database engine,” explains Grissom, “because our customers won’t have to update all the time to keep their computers running. And when they do update, it won’t cost a fortune,” says Grissom.
“Everyone has heard the stories about Bill Gates trying to do demos of a new Microsoft product, and his computer crashes in front of hundreds of people,” laughs Grissom. “But FirebirdSQL is very reliable, and very secure,” she continues, “The U.S. Navy management and logistical systems, SAS and Frontrange all rely on FirebirdSQL.”
As of 2007, Microsoft will no longer provide tech support for Windows NT. But if you’re still using NT, there are other ways to find solutions to problems with the software.
“I can’t remember the last time I called Microsoft tech support,” says Eldon Renner. “Yes, even software developers need tech support sometimes,” he admits. “But I’ve had much more success Googling any problem I have with Microsoft products. You can be sure someone else has already faced that problem, and ninety-nine percent of the time, they’ve posted the solution somewhere on the web.”
For more information about SMARTer Manager ERP software, call 877-762-7766, email information@smartermanager.com, or visit www.smartermanager.com.
Smart Shop Software first introduced the Smart Manager ERP solution in 1987. Since 2001, SMe Software has supported the users of Smart Manager Software and all Smart Shop Software products, and released a new product, SMARTer Manager, in 2004. A FirebirdSQL-based version of SMARTer Manager will be released early next year.