Dear Customer

I know you have received some negative statements about VFP from various quarters including the Gartner Group. This is obviously a concern; Gartner is a respected organisation that is well regarded in corporate circles and its advice is sought after.

VFP is not the only product that Gartner has commented upon. Just last month, Gartner issued generally negative advice about another Microsoft product, Internet Information Server.

While Gartner no doubt felt there were solid reasons for issuing this advice, not all parties agree. Some experts feel that Gartner has trivialised issues and proposed simplistic technical solutions to process issues which, like so much of life, are more complex than they seem at first glance.

The same is true of VFP. Since Gartner's negative comments were made in 1995, VFP has continued to grow and evolve, providing the basis for numerous successful products and companies, including ours. That the 1995 comments were simplistic is a matter of history.

If and when VFP is no longer a suitable option for you, you can be sure that we will have made arrangements to protect you and your data long before. After all it is *us* you have chosen as your vendor, not the tool we use.

In the meantime we all need to get on with running our businesses rather than worrying about what some people said would happen but never did.

Yours etc


Dr John Ryan
Chairman
PLATO Clinical Information Systems Ltd