So… I have to admit it – we still use MYOB here at Cactus. We need some functionality that Xero doesn’t yet have and it’s the best of the NZ customised offering currently available.

But it sucks, it really really really does.

The other day I installed the upgrade (and yes of course we had to pay for it) to Premier11.

The install went OK, no files were deleted, our customised forms worked etc etc.

First problem is that in a mixed XP/Vista network environment MYOB runs about as slow as is humanly possible to imagine. I contact MYOB and in their wisdom they told me that;

Please be aware that MYOB do not support set up or troubleshooting of networks related issue, but I have attached some information our product specialist has put together that may be of assistance

Bear in mind that this is a specifically engineered product that provides multi user functionality. What the feck did thy expect people would do with it? Run multiple virtual machines on one PC and open copies simultaneously on the same machine? Networking and multiuser capability may as well be the same thing when we’re talking about accounting software. The attached information that the “product specialist” sent was a developers guide to user access control for Microsoft Vista – which is going to help me exactly not at all to sort out the slow networking issues.

The time is ripe for change – the incumbents should be taken out the back and shot – Xero understand what SME’s need, broadband is not great but good enough and cloud based apps are an acceptable delivery method.

Please Xero, save us from the current mediocrity!

Ben Kepes

Ben Kepes is a technology evangelist, an investor, a commentator and a business adviser. Ben covers the convergence of technology, mobile, ubiquity and agility, all enabled by the Cloud. His areas of interest extend to enterprise software, software integration, financial/accounting software, platforms and infrastructure as well as articulating technology simply for everyday users.

3 Comments
  • if i could kill MYOB tomorrow i truly would

  • Cloud based apps are definitely an acceptable delivery method. Our Project management tool ProwOrkflow is collaborative, has many users logging into one account, and works beautifully over the internet as a webapp. XERO, PlanHQ and other SaaS web apps will know that this is the strength of the model.

    Traditional network applications will find their grasp on the market slipping as more, leaner web apps come to market.

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