In previous posting I've made reference to two customer based groups that Pervasive works with as part of our product feedback, direction and evaluation. The first is Inner Circle (IC), this is a group of pre-determined OEM's and partners that work with the Pervasive Corporate, Product Management and Sales teams to determine product focus and direction for strategic markets. The other is the Pervasive Quality Council or QC, this group is comprised of a variety of PSQL partners and end users that help us in evaluating, designing and testing of key features in our various PSQL product offerings (PSQL, AuditMaster, Backup Agent and DataExchange). They are also actively involved in feature enhancements and product direction.

Here is a list of common questions we receive about the Quality Council (QC) group:

• Do I get to participant in pre-beta testing or notification? Yes, this is the key component of the group, to evaluate and provide feedback on feature design, functionality, overall usability and quality. Members of this group get to evaluate and test product features prior to a public beta. This allows are development and engineering team to prioritize fixes and changes earlier in the test cycle to work with our partners on a solution or work-around before general release.

• Do I need to belong to QC in order to provide feature requesters or enhancements? No, we accept input from all customers regardless of size, revenue, membership, etc. If the feature is something that is required for the markets we serve we will prioritize and evaluate as needed. However members of the QC tend to be those that are more technology and market aware and the feedback we get from them tends to be suggested by many versus one or two.

• How do I join the QC group? This is easy, just submit a request to myself and I will provide you details on joining or you can contact our Customer Interaction Center (CIC), support team for more information.

• What other benefits are available to QC members? This is an excellent question, as the Product Manager for PSQL, I use the QC as a sounding board for ideas, features and validation in future direction. While this may seem one way the truth is that QC members provide the key component of the requirements phase . . . customer validation. This feedback is done as part of online surveys, customer visits, email exchange and telephone calls. We have also used this group to pre-announce special releases, betas and events.

The main goal of the QC is to evaluate and provide guidance on currently scheduled releases it is important to get additional feedback on other features and requirements are customers and partners are looking for in future releases. This is your opportunity to make your voice heard. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact me.

-Jim