Analysing the search terms people use has shown that a few are hopeful of finding NAV for free. Of course “free” in this respect may mean either FOC or less restricted (“free speech rather than free beer” as the Free Software Foundation describes it). NAV is not available free of charge, unless you are a Microsoft partner specialising in ERP solutions but even then we pay partner fees so no free lunch here either!
NAV is Open Source. The concept is unusual for a Microsoft product and harks back to its early Danish roots. As with any product, there is a point where the investment in development needs to be balanced with some income through sales. In software, this point is often comes just before the product is completely, absolutely finished. Early adopters pay a testing price for getting a jump on the Joneses; more prudent buyers usually wait until the third release of technology before jumping the band-wagon. Look at the iPad, techie addicts and Apple lovers bought iPad1, fashion conscious (all the gear, no idea) will opt for the colourful iPad2 and sensible people will await iPad3.
How does a technology company reward / encourage users to be early adopters? For items like the iPad it’s a lot about prestige (no surprise that Apple is tipped to be the next luxury brand). With Navision’s Danish founders the reward was Open Source technology. Open Source was essential for early versions of Navision as it enabled partners (and customers) to add functionality to the basic set. Over the years and versions, NAV is now functionally extremely rich (some of the standard functionality came from the partners and has been included into the system). This is a problem in my demonstrations as it used to be great to show how easy it is to add a field and immediately search, filter and report on its values; these days it’s hard to think of a field that doesn’t already exist as standard!
There are other benefits to Open Source. As the code resides on the client’s server there is no need for ESCROW agreements. There is no lock in to any one partner as all NAV licensed individuals are able to access the code (once you provide access to your system of course!).
The “free” element to NAV is that once the licence has been bought, clients are free to make copies for test, training and development (the restriction is that only one live or production system is permitted). NAV clients are also free to choose who they work with, selecting the partner who best suits their needs and if necessary, changing partners as needs and offering change.
Open Source means NAV offers freedom. It’s not free of charge. It’s not “reassuringly expensive” but all will agree that anything worthwhile does come at a price. What’s important when selecting business software is to establish the value; more and more purchasers are looking to prove the return on investment over a five year period rather than saving a few pounds at the outset.
I hope that the searchers are pleased with freedom rather than FOC. If it was you, call us for a free taste, we’ll even buy you lunch!
