Mar 2009

Data Comparisons: Free vs Professional

by Steve Wortham
If you're using a free database server such as Microsoft SQL Express, or mysql, would you want to pay for a database comparison tool?

I'd tend to think that you'd look at the free options first, just as I would. For that reason, I'm thinking about giving away a full-featured free version of Data Comparisons with only one limitation -- it can only be used with free database servers.

Now the beta isn't yet compatible with anything other than Microsoft SQL for now. But once I make it compatible with more servers, that's the idea I'd build upon. There's potential for this tool to become very popular among mysql and SQL Express users, of which there are many.

The professional version would be the very same product, but with no limitations on what server you can connect to. I still have to figure out the price, but I'll be sure to price it below the competition.

So that's the plan. The plan may change but I really do believe that the "Give and you shall receive" approach will work for BucketSoft in the long run. As you may have read in some of my other posts and even my "About Us" page, I like the companies out there that are willing to cater to the work-at-home types and hobbyists. And I want BucketSoft to be one of those. I'd love to hear your thoughts.