near the end of this page for more information. The cost of a software maintenance
contract is based on today's (i.e., current) price of your A-Shell system. Use the price list to figure your base price, add in any options, and that is the price on which your maintenance contract will be calculated.
Maintenance is charged at 25%, 20% or 15% of the A-Shell system price, depending on the support requirements of the customer/site in question. For retail users who depend on MicroSabio for significant tech support, the 25% rate
applies. Most other retail customers will be charged at the 20% rate, while resellers and software developers generally are charged 15%.
Programming and Support Contracts
Programming, extended support and
miscellaneous technical services are available via the mechanism of support contracts. Firms anticipating unusual support requirements—lots of developer-related questions, for example, or help with porting to an unfamiliar
operating system environment—should purchase a five or ten hour support contract, against which time used will be debited. Note that the rates quoted here are used as billing rates for all support services not explicitly
described elsewhere on this page, and also for support provided in excess of reasonable limits.
General Support Policy
MicroSabio provides unusually good support to its
customers, and normally "goes the extra mile" to insure that all customer problems are solved in a timely manner. In exchange for this good support, MicroSabio expects all
customers--users and resellers alike--to prepurchase whichever of the support plans seems most applicable. Customers not on a plan of some sort should not expect support. Also, please note that "a reasonable amount" of support is implied in all of the non-hourly plans listed above; MicroSabio reserves the right to begin charging for support when a "reasonable amount" has been exceeded.
Update Support
Your A-Shell license includes an update expiration date, which is extended when you purchase a software maintenance contract. With the original purchase of A-Shell, your update
expiration date is 90 days from the date of purchase. If you purchase a software maintenance contract at the same time you buy A-Shell, you receive an additional 90 days of that contract at no charge. If you attempt to update
the software beyond the update expiration date, A-Shell will revert to unlicensed (demo) mode.
Software Maintenance Explained
A-Shell is being improved all the time. The MicroSabio
development team works on A-Shell more or less continuously, adding features, improving performance, adapting to new environments, expanding applicability, fixing bugs, and generally doing everything possible to make the software
as good as it can be made. It is a never-ending process, of course; we take it take seriously and do our best to continuously improve the product.
You, the user of A-Shell, receive the benefits of A-Shell's on-going
development in two ways. First, you can use our websites (www.microsabio.com and www.a-shell.net) to stay informed about A-Shell developments that may be particularly relevant to you and your situation. Second, you can update your
in-house copy of A-Shell by simply downloading the latest version from our web site; you can update once a month or once a year or on whatever schedule you wish.
The costs (to us) and the benefits (to you) of the on-going
"A-Shell Improvement Program" are admittedly difficult to calculate. So we have looked at various pricing models, examined industry practices, taken into consideration our customers and their situations, and have
done our best to come up with a reasonable method of charging for these on-going improvements.
We call our program "software maintenance." That term is intended to communicate that it refers to maintenance and
development of A-Shell; it does NOT refer to tech support or custom programming or installation assistance, or other services available from MicroSabio. It refers ONLY to the on-going development of A-Shell, from which you
and all A-Shell customers benefit--either immediately or at some point in the future.
The annual cost of A-Shell software maintenance is fifteen percent of today's price of your system. If you bought A-Shell for $2500, for
example, your annual fee is $375. This provides you with unlimited access to the latest versions of A-Shell. We bill you once a year, in advance of the one-year period.
All of our customers, from single-PCs to
systems running hundreds of users, are expected to participate in the software maintenance program. By distributing the costs of A-Shell development across the widest possible base of users, we keep the rates reasonable and keep
the software growing.
We think this a fair and reasonable approach to the problem of charging for on-going software development. While it may not be perfect, it does seem to meet the needs of both our customers and our
developers.
If you have any questions about the software maintenance program, please send us an email message.
