[consulting] Who exactly is this list for?

[Brian Vuyk]

Andrew,

As much as some day I hope Drupal is able to be everything to everyone, 
it still does not match up to standalone solutions in some areas such as 
wikis or forums. *puts on asbestos underwear*

The work I do isn't necessarily about promoting Drupal. It's about 
providing my clients the best solution to their needs at the best price. 
In most situations, Drupal is the solution of choice. However, I can't 
in good conscience recommend a client use Drupal if all they want is a 
forum (for instance). The costs of making a pure Drupal solution match 
up to the feature set of VBulletin is cost prohibitive if that is what 
the client wants.

Like I said above - I love Drupal, and will use it as far as is feasible 
to accomplish my clients' objectives. But it's just one tool in the 
toolbox, and occasionally, it's not the right one from a cost/benefit 
perspective.

Brian



Andrew R. Kelly wrote:
> [ak] I'd like to pursue this point for a bit, it hits to the culture of the
> list. Are we here to simply qualify Drupal as the "best" solution and if
> not, advise against it?  Or do we support each other if Drupal is a "viable"
> solution?  I see the world through competitive lenses and there is only one
> leader in every market, the followers don't typically back off because they
> aren't the "best" solution, it's the nature of business.  If this group is
> focused and aggressive, it can be a formidable force against competing FOSS
> products and COTS products with very small consulting departments.  I would
> love to tell a prospect "So, its between Drupal and Jive Clearspace eh?
> Well, Jive has a 10 person consulting group, we have a 1000 person strong
> group :)"
>
> I do want to mention that I find this list content valuable and applaud
> those responsible for it - these comments are not meant to be criticism of
> those efforts at all.
>
> Andrew
>
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