Actinic and Oxatis: Q&A

[Benjamin Dyer]

Following the announcement of the Actinic and Oxatis joint venture, please use this thread for any questions or comments.

I'll open the thread with an FAQ:

FAQ

Where can I find out about Actinic Online

We plan to make the full details (including pricing and features) available on our website within the next couple of weeks. Please contact sales if you are interested in learning more.

I’m a Catalog / Business / Enterprise user, what does this mean for me?

Nothing, we are fully committed to our Desktop range of products both now and into the future. We are continuing to support previous versions, are working on a maintenance release for v10 and v11 is currently at private alpha. News regarding v12 will be made available shortly.

I’m a Express user, what does this mean for me?

The Express service will continue unchanged for the time being. There may be some immediate changes to your login and this will be communicated in due course.

Will there be a v12, v13, v14 etc

Yes, news on upcoming releases will be made available shortly.

Who are Oxatis?

Oxatis are the market leaders for online E-commerce within France, Spain and Italy.

[Mike Hughes]

What is SaaS ? is it Software as a Service and does this mean it's a pay for use model like express?

Mike

[Benjamin Dyer]

What is SaaS ? is it Software as a Service and does this mean it's a pay for use model like express?

Hi Mike,

Yep, thats exactly what it is.

Ben

[Mike Hughes]

Thanks Ben, this one's not quite so easy.

How will the new solution slot into the Actinic line up? The Press Release talks about

an alternative SaaS-based ecommerce application with a number of advanced capabilities not found in the current Actinic range such as eBay, Amazon and Facebook integration.

But looking at the Oxatis website it doesn't look that advanced; There's no mention of ebay, amazon or facebook integration and it doesn't even appear to do reviews yet.

So are we really looking at something that's the next level for express, with Actinic desktop still being the more capable product?

Mike

[Benjamin Dyer]

...looking at the Oxatis website it doesn't look that advanced; There's no mention of ebay, amazon or facebook integration and it doesn't even appear to do reviews yet.

So are we really looking at something that's the next level for express, with Actinic desktop still being the more capable product?

Mike

Hey Mike,

The version of the software Oxatis have on their site and the one we will be offering will be a little different. I won't go into details at this stage but they will be available soon.

Regarding the level of functionality / appropriateness etc... that really depends on what it is your after. The desktop software is completely appropriate for anyone that either likes that model or it fits with their business set up (MU, EPOS, Local etc). We plan to develop both products forward and build on their USPs, we will also make it easy for people to go from one to the other.

[Golf Tee Warehouse]

Is this partnership likely to slow down development of the desktop based Actinic software as time and resources are concentrated on the oxatis based software.
My concern is that Actinic desktop will be neglected forcing users to move to the Oxatis platform or look elsewhere.

[Benjamin Dyer]

Is this partnership likely to slow down development of the desktop based Actinic software as time and resources are concentrated on the oxatis based software.
My concern is that Actinic desktop will be neglected forcing users to move to the Oxatis platform or look elsewhere.

No, not at all.

We are trying hard to get the desktop software onto a yearly release cycle. Our next release v11 is in private alpha now, it would have been available earlier if we hadn't of decided to add more to the release / v10. I will be making some announcements regarding v12 very soon as I want to get community input again.

Our aim is to build on the USPs of each product and develop them both forward.

This join venture gives both of us significantly more firepower in the game.

[Mike Hughes]

I like the idea behind this and think it could work out nicely for everyone.

It should bring new life and more resources to the Online product, hopefully freeing up development resources for Actinic on the desktop. It should also bring some new ideas into the company; new areas to focus on, new ways of doing things, sharing better ways to solve the same problem.

I'd also like to think this could be a good way to introduce some competition and provide a benchmark for development timescales too. If one side of the group is getting products released rapidly, introducing new features, clearing existing niggles, etc then the other team is going to feel the desire to show that they can do just as well.

So good luck to everyone on this.

Mike

[leehack]

I agree, this will mean Actinic will be able to focus on the desktop product and Oxatis the online side. I'd certainly have no worries about the desktop product getting less focus, i'd figure this is a move to in fact give it more focus, effectively handing back express dev time or at least a big part of it. I've always felt actinic have too many products to support.

A few years ago we were talking about certain features lacking from within Actinic. v10 & v11 development has closed that gap considerably and with this announcement, i expect that gap to close even further in even quicker timescales. I really like the idea of annual releases, my only concern would be whether tight timescales mean we get a release where upgrading once every 2 years is best, because you do not miss out too much on a yearly release basis.

Annual releases enable a much quicker reaction to market factors too, i'm pleased with the announcement, bigger more powerful in a software market has to be a good thing.

[Benjamin Dyer]

I really like the idea of annual releases, my only concern would be whether tight timescales mean we get a release where upgrading once every 2 years is best, because you do not miss out too much on a yearly release basis.

I think it really depends on the contents of the release. v11 for an example is pretty big, there are a lot of features in there people have been asking us for. When you take this and the additional v10 work we have undertaken you can understand why a year has slipped. I know there are a lot of community requests, I would love to undertake a release that mopped a load of these up. We do have to be irritatingly pragmatic sometimes!

Anyway, I won't start speculating about v12, lets get v11 in the wild and take it from there.

[leehack]

I would love to undertake a release that mopped a load of these up. We do have to be irritatingly pragmatic sometimes!

I think most people are reasonable and understand you have to balance things. I think it would be nice to have a commitment of some sort that you will with every release address x number of long standing issues. I think this sort of approach is very important for overall quality. Another would be a commitment that no issue will ever span more than 2 releases unless there are exceptional circumstances. I think sometimes as creators you can forget that it's not all about new features, sometimes rock solid and existing features working perfectly with no niggles can be just as good. As ever it's such a fine balancing act though, glad it's your job not mine.

My OCD would simply have to do a release to get rid of all issues, no matter what my customers were wanting, their needs are simply unimportant if there are things for me to clean up

[Darren B]

I think this could be the shot in the arm that has been needed for a while, sure V11 will address some of the biggest requests / complaints and i dont doubt v12 will mop up more still but to me this looks like a good thing.

Offering more choice to the consumer is always a positive and doing it this way can only mean time will be spent on building a good foundation for future migration.

i wish you guys well

[richsolutions]

Interesting partnership that has developed there, I will keep my eye on this. I just wonder if their will be a migration between both Actinic Desktop client an Actinic Online using the Oxatis system.

But still exciting news!

[Benjamin Dyer]

Interesting partnership that has developed there, I will keep my eye on this. I just wonder if their will be a migration between both Actinic Desktop client an Actinic Online using the Oxatis system.

Hi Rich, yep, we are working on a migration tool. Our first priority is obviously Express stores.

[MMR]

Hi Rich, yep, we are working on a migration tool. Our first priority is obviously Express stores.

Mint!

I love online as it can be accessed from anywhere that is one of the biggest let downs for me with the desktop version is that 1) its PC only! 2) Can only really be accessed from the office.

A migration tool from desktop to online is a dream come true!

Sage incorporation also with the online package?