SurfRay Update 2
November 23, 2008
When I was in Denmark a week ago, I picked up some information about SurfRay. The problem is that the items are either unconfirmed or contradictory. I can tell you that the people with whom I spoke were passionate about SurfRay. Some of the individuals who shall remain nameless because i don’t need any inputs from attorneys and tire kickers were quite optimistic about the company.
One person said:
We are working hard to make improvements at SurfRay. Some of the products are much in demand, and we have big opportunities.
i spoke with a couple of people who were annoyed at the company, but I want to keep the annoyance info in perspective. I can’t get a fix on enough data to figure out if the annoyance is the normal sort of grousing or if there is more to the sniping. Read through the comments on this Web log and you will get a sense of the frustration some feel toward SurfRay.
I fielded a number of rumors, but I am reluctant to mention them in this Web log post. With the financial noose tightening around the neck of a number of companies, my hunch is that the economy is not helping out the SurfRay outfit.
I did speak with one customer of Ontolica on my last trip to Europe. The fellow mentioned that he liked the product but he wanted an update. Development hassles when combined with a tough financial climate can be a volatile mixture.
I am on the fence with regard to SurfRay. If you have any factual information, please, use the comments section of this Web log to tell me what you know. I don’t feel comfortable with personal comments about managers, but I delight in observations about software which are anchored in technical facts.
As I get more information about SurfRay that I can validate, I will share it. In the meantime, we need to keep SurfRay at the top of our search and information access mind. There are too many people reading SurfRay
Stephen Arnold, November 23, 2008
Comments
4 Responses to “SurfRay Update 2”
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Mr. Arnold,
I am a SurfRay employee in Texas. I spent my time over the long weekend digging through blogs to see what people had to say. I appreciate your stance on avoiding unsubstantiated rumors. It seems that for every competitor that finds a way to take a crack at us, there are 3 customers ready to step into the blogs on our defense.
There is a very large market out there for MondoSearch and Ontolica Search for MOSS. In the current financial climate it is more important than ever to be efficient with time. That means not wasting time finding the information you want to work with.
Expect to see tremendous growth in our staff and products especially in the US market throughout 2009. An entire new support team and support process has been put into place to promptly tend to our customer’s needs. Regarding product updates, you should begin to see them throughout the early part of the year. Additionally, keep your eyes out for a few new offerings which are currently in the beta. If you have any questions I would be more than willing to answer them.
Josh Noble
jno@surfray.com
Josh Noble,
Thanks for your offer. Quite a bit of information has flowed to me in the last 24 hours. I will post a short summary and some questions. Feel free to respond to that post. I don’t have a view about SurfRay beyond my surprise at the intensity and frequency of the posts about the company.
Stephen Arnold, December 3, 2008
Josh,
I understand your need to defend Surfray, your loyalty is properly appreciated as new in the Company. But you don’t convince me with beautiful worlds all of us need proof now.
Where are the customers who want to step up in your defense? Where are the facts that disprove the rumors?? And why do people, who are either contractors or old employees, need to go to court every single time to get the payment???
The structure of the company is well documented, and except for SurfRay Inc, and A/S every company is either close to bankruptcy, or all the values sent to foreclosure and that is facts that anyone can look up on the link put forward.
It is also a fact that SurfRay keeps hiring new people (this is a good sign if old employee get their money, but they don’t!) The average length of service in the company is about 3 month at this time…!!! How can this be leadership, and why isn’t Bill walking what he is talking… “I can assure anyone concerned that SurfRay will stand by any legitimate obligations we may have.”
All this negativity directed at SurfRay, will not stop by current employees commenting the blog with how great it is going to be, it will not stop until customers and contractors are saying SurfRay is a sound business with good values.
/Lars
All the comments from former and current employee reminded me about this….
http://www.dilbert.com/strips/comic/2000-02-24/