Big Changes At Gem-X?

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Posted by Bob Mackreth
Nov 24, 2008 at 11:47 PM

It appears that Gem-X has just made some substantial changes in their business model. They have redone their website (about time- it was a travesty) and reinstituted the user forum that they dropped a year or so ago, But most importantly - if I’m reading things right- they’ve dropped their former modular pricing scheme for Do-Organizer. Instead of charging separately for different program modules, it appears they are now selling the whole shebang for $49.95.

Wonder what this means about the future prospects for the company… I’m not a Do-Organizer user myself, but I certainly wish them well.

http://www.gemx.com/

Posted by Daly de Gagne
Nov 26, 2008 at 01:21 PM

Bob, I think there’s a shaking out in the software development sector.

Companies are struggling. Some markets may have matured, or been overtaken by new technology.

There’s a big emphasis now on web-based software, which increasingly offers a range of reasonable choice at little or no cost.

One sign of the shaking out is the price slashing of software.

Knowledge Workshop which came on the scene about the same time as UltraRecall and General Knowledge Base has dramatically cuts prices since its introduction. This was a program that started off over-priced and with design issues. It’s now improved its design and costs less.

IdeaMason has lowered its price considerably.

As for GemX I think they had two issues. One was that they may have succeded too well initially with their outlining product. But this success came at a time when users were becoming more sophisticated, wanting metadata, and other features. Somehow, I think their outlining niche slipped away.

Do-Organizer is an excellent product, and it may well be worth its new price. The modular approach was a good one, but if you bought every module the price was high compared to what is in the market.

In the mind mapping field there’s a number of good programs, and they are very competively priced, with the exception of MindManager, which to me is overpriced. However, having a foothold in the corporate market and offering some high end features, it can jusitfy the pricing for as long as the corporate sector puts up with it. Here, too, I suspect the competition is nipping at MM’s heels.

The Personal Brain is also too highly priced, and I suspect it will reduce its prices within the next 12 to 18 months.

Personal service is becoming a way to have competitive edge. We have heard how the cool, techy nature of UltraRecall’s principles has perhaps worked against it. Meanwhile, people like Neville at Surfulater are praised, and receive much valuable buzz because they are personable, responsive, and don’t go all geeky on those of us who can’t understand it.

GemX in returning its forums has probably realized the importance of community.

And that ties in with a change in the market over the last few years, and that is the explosion of social media sites. These sites have changed the way many people do business (and elect presidents!). The irony is that as we move ahead technologically, seemingly old fashioned approaches based on personal interaction are regaining importance.

I wish GemX well, and think they should stick with Do-Organizer, while enhancing the capabilities of the outliner, mind mapper and other modules.

Daly

Bob Mackreth wrote:
>It appears that Gem-X has just made some substantial changes in their business model.
>They have redone their website (about time- it was a travesty) and reinstituted the
>user forum that they dropped a year or so ago, But most importantly - if I’m reading
>things right- they’ve dropped their former modular pricing scheme for
>Do-Organizer. Instead of charging separately for different program modules, it
>appears they are now selling the whole shebang for $49.95.
> >Wonder what this means
>about the future prospects for the company… I’m not a Do-Organizer user myself, but
>I certainly wish them well.
> >http://www.gemx.com/
>

Posted by Dale L.
Jan 4, 2009 at 07:07 AM

I think pricing strategies have to change to accomodate the current recession. Expensive software will definately be left on the shelf. The way things are today, it’s probably a good idea to make pricing adjustments to keep businesses in business!

As for me, web-based apps won’t be used. Like most people, I don’t like the idea of someone “owning” my information. I’m not at all comfortable with web-based related issues in regards to privacy, ownership, reliable service and overall web application performance - especially compared to desktop applications that perform very well. I find that web apps tend to be slow (sluggish) with so little options which makes them close to useless. In general, changing pages is slow.

As for GemX, I think that their attitude is honorable. There’s always lots of challenge involved when making “come backs” and I think that they have made a big effort worth an applause. I believe in people who can turn things around…

In most cases, aggressive pricing strategies promotes competitiveness. To be successful, you need to be competitive. At the price they were selling in the past, they definately missed the “mark” in terms of competition. At least, now, they do have a very competitive price which makes the purchase interesting. After all, what other app in the same category can offer what do-Organizer does? It’s an outstanding product.

Apparently, in 2009, they will release version 4 which is completely rewritten and will have a client server approach - that still adds more interesting value at the price. Small to medium businesses looking to cut back on costs especially in recession times, can take advantage of the small investment in purchasing do-Organizer. They also mentioned that version 4 will have the IMAP installed in the mailer. Anyways, it will be interesting to see this new version…! It’s scheduled for release somewhere near June. Ofcourse, we all know that projected development dates are always “changing” due to issues…

It seems to me that this release will crunch the competition somewhat…
yes, go GemX…

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