Software — Big Companies, Good or Bad?

April 7, 2007 by Dan Siegel.

People who know me know that I love computers and software, and that my technology business, Integrated Technology Services, LLC, is just fun for me. It’s like getting paid to play. But it’s still a business, and after a year and half, it’s still a learning process. What have I learned? Some companies treat you nicer than others. Some of the big companies just want to squeeze out the little guy (like I could possibly kill their businesses) while others embrace the little guy. One example is Lexis-Nexis, a monolith no doubt, but a company that has embraced my business and knows that as I succeed, so does it.

I’m now a Certified Independent Consultant (CIC) for Time Matters and am in the process of becoming a CIC for Hot Docs. The people have generally been really nice, and they are committed to working with me. The same goes (10X over) for the wonderful people at Case Soft (they make Case Map, Time Map, etc., and I support them all). They have always been a pleasure to deal with, even after Lexis-Nexis bought them.

On the other hand, other companies get bought out and the first thing they do is try to eliminate me. One company immediately ended my reseller agreement (I made about $50 commission per license) and raised their prices so high that most of my clients — solos, small and mid-size firms — probably aren’t going to buy their product anymore. Do they care? No. They say the number-crunchers told them what to do.

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