8 replies to this topic

[Nick Springer]

I am pleased to announce the release of my latest project: Dashflo.com.

Dashflo is designed to be easy and quick to use, so you can focus on your projects and not on the tool. There are a million tools out there to track the minutia of an individual project, but Dashflo gives you the big picture in a concise dashboard.

It is quite simply the easiest project tracking tool designed for visual thinkers. See your projects move through the pipeline and into the rest of your custom workflow. Never lose track of a project again. Enable cost & revenue tracking and keep an eye on your money. Color and labeling allow you to fully customize your dashboard.

Dashflo is free for the first 30 days. No credit card is required to sign up, and registering takes under a minute.
Take Dashflo for a test-drive today and see how easy it is to track all your projects.

[David Medeiros]

This looks like an interesting tool, I love the idea that it's designed from a visual thinkers perspective. Not having tried it yet, I'm curious why it's a pay by period service rather than a stand alone tool? I don't see anything in the list of features that would require a service contract rather than a one time purchase.

[Nick Springer]

Since this is a web app we will be continuing to add new features, so we can't charge a version upgrade fee like a desktop application, where some people can use us the old version and choose not to use the new version. You can purchase a year-long subscription which is cheaper and then you only have to relicense the product once a year

[CGIS]

Since this is a web app we will be continuing to add new features, so we can't charge a version upgrade fee like a desktop application, where some people can use us the old version and choose not to use the new version. You can purchase a year-long subscription which is cheaper and then you only have to relicense the product once a year

Hi Nick - I've given it a try, and while I really like the interface, the only deal breaker for me is the price. I may be a cheap bugger, or lack the volume of work to make it worth the cost, so take my reply with a grain of salt.

Please forgive the analogy, but software-as-a-service seems to me, to be analogous to suckling at the teat of the consumer. Worse still you're often locked to the platform. From a social perspective, I'd be interested to know how SAS-modeled businesses have been affected by the recession, and how their recovery is going. I feel that consumers are still gun-shy of SAS. But hey from a developer's perspective SAS is where it's at.

If there were a desktop v1.0 that I could by for $96, and own indefinitely, I might do so and pay for upgrades as the features suit me. This approach puts the power in the consumer's hands, and means that for an upgrade to be paid for, the feature development must be worthwhile. SAS lacks that motivation (in my opinion).

Nice tool though.

[David Medeiros]

Since this is a web app we will be continuing to add new features, so we can't charge a version upgrade fee like a desktop application, where some people can use us the old version and choose not to use the new version. You can purchase a year-long subscription which is cheaper and then you only have to relicense the product once a year

Hi Nick - I've given it a try, and while I really like the interface, the only deal breaker for me is the price. I may be a cheap bugger, or lack the volume of work to make it worth the cost, so take my reply with a grain of salt.

Please forgive the analogy, but software-as-a-service seems to me, to be analogous to suckling at the teat of the consumer. Worse still you're often locked to the platform. From a social perspective, I'd be interested to know how SAS-modeled businesses have been affected by the recession, and how their recovery is going. I feel that consumers are still gun-shy of SAS. But hey from a developer's perspective SAS is where it's at.

If there were a desktop v1.0 that I could by for $96, and own indefinitely, I might do so and pay for upgrades as the features suit me. This approach puts the power in the consumer's hands, and means that for an upgrade to be paid for, the feature development must be worthwhile. SAS lacks that motivation (in my opinion).

Nice tool though.

I have to agree. I don't see the web service connection here, this looks like a better stand alone app or desktop program. Perhaps you could create a set of service features but sell the app alone and allow the user to choose between a basic version and the service connected version (or just make it an app).

[GISRox]

I actually think the web service idea is great. It allows the user to connect using virtually any time of device. In the past, I did quite a bit of offsite work. Using a web service app, such as Dashflo, would allow me to track my projects using a smartphone or other mobile device. My only suggestion to Nick would be to reconsider the pricing.

[CGIS]

I actually think the web service idea is great. It allows the user to connect using virtually any time of device. In the past, I did quite a bit of offsite work. Using a web service app, such as Dashflo, would allow me to track my projects using a smartphone or other mobile device. My only suggestion to Nick would be to reconsider the pricing.

YOu might be onto something there - if he could create an app for the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch that would connect to your Dashflo account - that would certainly exploit a big advantage of the cloud.

[Nick Springer]

I actually think the web service idea is great. It allows the user to connect using virtually any time of device. In the past, I did quite a bit of offsite work. Using a web service app, such as Dashflo, would allow me to track my projects using a smartphone or other mobile device. My only suggestion to Nick would be to reconsider the pricing.

A mobile version is on the way soon. We are working on the code but getting all the interactions to behave properly on the slew of phones, tablets, and OSes is a challenge.

We are also now offering much lower pricing for now: Dashflo pricing

[David Medeiros]

I actually think the web service idea is great. It allows the user to connect using virtually any time of device. In the past, I did quite a bit of offsite work. Using a web service app, such as Dashflo, would allow me to track my projects using a smartphone or other mobile device. My only suggestion to Nick would be to reconsider the pricing.

YOu might be onto something there - if he could create an app for the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch that would connect to your Dashflo account - that would certainly exploit a big advantage of the cloud.

Cloud sync could be the feature that validates a subscription model (I don't see anything else in the features list that does). Syncing between devices at home however should not require a service. "Things" is a good example of a planning program that syncs between portable devices and your desktop but is a one time purchase (separate purchase for each device type; desktop and iOS app). A cloud service subscription could be an option to add on to a stand alone app purchase for Dashflo.

I don't mean to pan your efforts Nick, Dashflo looks pretty slick, I'm just having trouble identifying the benefits of a subscription in this case over a one time purchase. If you have good validation for the subscription model I'd look at adding more of that info to your website. Good luck (and let me know if you ever offer a single purchase version!).