Profit Through Participation
News Release
May 4, 2010
For Immediate Release
Eclipse Users Group/UFO
UFO Board Meeting with Activant
Discussion on Resignation of Don Sarno

Board of Directors meeting with Activant May 4, 2010

Kevin Roach, Frank Heenan, and Bill Wright

Full UFO Board

 

The UFO Board had a conference call on May 4th to discuss the resignation of Don Sarno and its effect on the Eclipse product development.

Frank Heenan, Activant Director of Product Development and Marketing stated that Don Sarno opted to resign on April 30th. It was a personal decision by Don to explore opportunities outside of the distribution software industry. Don had been working in this area for over 15 years and he felt that it was time to move on to something new.

Don's workload is being allocated to several individuals within the existing Product Management team who have been working closely with him for quite some time. Bill Wright will take on more responsibility in the Solar and Eterm release areas. Bill has been our UFO contact for quite some time and has been working with the Eclipse user base for several years. Don had been working on a new product offering, Zoom 360, and Jason Hatfield will be taking over this product and, according to Frank, is currently winding down the development and QA cycle and getting close to launch.  As for Eclipse development, we were reminded that Activant had transitioned those responsibilities to Shelly Conley and Sean Smith, under David Getty, Sr. Director of Development, approximately one year ago.

This is definitely a loss to Activant and the users but projects will continue moving forward as scheduled.  Activant shared their commitment to the board that they will ensure their continued support for the Eclipse applications and the service levels we expect. If there were any issues you had in process with Don please direct them to Frank Heenan at [email protected].  Frank will ensure the issue is appropriately addressed.

We felt the call was open and honest and that Activant is moving forward with existing plans with currently involved personnel. We have known Don for a long time and appreciate his concern and understanding for the Eclipse user base. That said, we feel that Activant is committed to the future development of Eclipse.

The board will continue to pursue a close working relationship with Kevin, Frank as well as other members of Activant that are working on Eclipse product development, services and support.

Larry McMullin

Eclipse Users Group/UFO

President