- Report: #1096035
Complaint Review: Anand Systems Inc. - Tracy California
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
Anand Systems Inc.
35 East 10th Street, Suite F Tracy, 95376 California, USA
Phone:
1 (800) 431-4786
Web:
http://www.anandsytems.com
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good?
Anand Systems Inc. - ASI Front Desk 6.0 software Poorly written software, especially networked version. Forced support contracts. Stay Away! Tracy California
I'm the network administrator for a customer of mine that got talked into buying ASI Front Desk 6.0 property management software. This is, in my opinion, one of the worst pieces of proprietary Windows-based software in existence. The customer is literally forced into buying an annual service contract to keep the software operational and to do any type of administrative tasks or database repair. The service contract is based on the number of rooms, which currently costs my customer $300.00 per year to renew.(incidentally, the cost of the original software, not to mention even more for a second network-connected workstation)
The network version is so fragile that it won't even connect to the database server unless both machines have static IP addresses, and the windows firewall is turned off! What kind of craziness is this? This was a direct quote from one of Anand Systems support techs that I spent over an hour on the phone with last fall around this time. Without the firewall enabled in Windows 7, certain functions like file & printer sharing don't work properly, especially on a network with mixed operating systems. Technical support is all out-sourced to India, so the support techs are barely understandable at times.
My customer dropped the support contract this past year, because as a small business owner, she simply couldn't afford the extra expense. So now, after I installed a network backup solution on her machines and re-started and re-configured the Windows firewall(s) to allow any and all ports related to ASI Frontdesk to be open between the server and client machines. The program still runs on the server, but cannot be connected to from the client machine, no matter what. The software apparently can't resolve the server IP address by machine name on the network (i.e. via DHCP), but by all rights, if the machines still have static IP's, which they do, it should be able to connect without outside intervention.
There is a serious flaw in this software, and I suppose it is intentional to keep the customer locked into buying the overpriced service contract year after year in order to keep it running. I would not recommend this to anyone in a motel 'start-up' situation, because it becomes VERY costly on a year-to-year basis. Look at open-source alternatives, or another company that doesn't have such draconian support contracts.
NOTE: There is a field below asking if I used a credit card for this transaction. I wasn't involved with the purchase, but my customer did bill this to her credit card. If this ends up going anywhere legally, I think she may be interested in taking part in a class-action suit against Anand Systems. I will keep her identity confidential until such time as I am contacted with this information. Thank you.
