Penguin Blue is often asked "How big are you?"
In many ways we feel that is the wrong question to ask of your software vendor. We believe the correct question is "How small are you?"
Aside from the obvious concerns about the viability and long-term existence of our company, which we hope to answer in this short commentary, here are some considerations to ponder.
Briefly, the short answer to the first question is "big enough". Penguin Blue actually has 4 personnel committed full-time to its business.
In addition, there are 8 sub-contractors who are involved on an as-needed basis to help out with development, support, and other project-oriented tasks.
We like being small, and we feel it offers two significant advantages:
- We all know our customers very well: you are not "just another customer", but a partner. (It is in our interests to make you happy and satisfied.)
- We can control the software development carefully, and the result is that a great deal of the time we can do things VERY quickly: far more quickly than a larger company who needs to maintain formal release cycles. We are "agile" and can move swiftly so you can respond to your customer demands quickly as well. (In some cases we can implement changes the same day they are requested!)
Furthermore:
We are here to stay. Penguin Blue is the culmination of long careers in the industry for its two directors and we are not about to walk away from the business, or from those customers who have demonstrated their faith in us.
We will grow when the time is right, and it is justified. This allows us to keep our prices low and standards high. At the moment, with software so reliable and easy to use, running on the most stable platform available today, our support load does not warrant growth ... yet. When we do add staff, it will be because the need is there, not to impress potential customers with the number of staff.
If you are concerned about our size, we are happy to negotiate an arrangement that will place the source code and design documentation in escrow so that in the event of a disaster or non-performance you have access to it and can control your own destiny.
We also invite you to talk to our existing customers: We will provide references for you to contact to verify the quality of our service and product.