BDC Meta Man - why purchase the Professional Version?
Hopefully you've already downloaded the free Developer version of BDC Meta Man. Considering purchasing the professional version? Here are a few reasons why you'd want to:
1, Create as many entities as you like
With the free Developer version of BDC Meta Man you can have two entities on the design surface at anyone time. With the Professional version you can add as many entities as you require, allowing you to fully utilize the scrollable design surface and zoom in and out functionality. By being able to add more than two entities, you can of course create more complex association relationship between your business data catalog entities.
2, Connect to different data sources
The free Developer version of BDC Meta Man can connect to SQL Server 2000 and 2005 databases. Upon connecting to SQL Server you can create BDC entities from tables and views.
The Professional version of BDC Meta Man allows you to create entities from SQL Server stored procedures, as well as Oracle 9 + 10 and web services.
3, Write back to your data source
The Business Data Catalog has long been thought of as a read only solution. With BDC Meta Man Professional version however you can generate web parts and application definition files that allow you to write back to your Line of Business data system without writing a single line of code! To find out more please see this Knowledge Base article.
4, Get excellent support
As a user of the Developer version of BDC Meta Man you get access to our Lightning Tools forums and free support email.
Professional version users not only get this support, but also 90 days free premium support on BDC Meta Man and the Business Data Catalog in general - with the option to extend this for a longer period.
5, Open previously generated application definition files
With the Professional version of BDC Meta Man you can open previously generated application definition files for you to re-edit meaning you don't have to start them from scratch each time a change it required.
6, Get a free copy of the KPI BDC Web Part and discounts on upcoming BDC web parts
All new and existing Professional license holders of BDC Meta Man get a free license of the Lightning Tools KPI BDC Web Part worth $400.00.
7, License lasts for the products lifetime
A Professional license for BDC Meta Man lasts for the entire lifetime of the product. If you purchase a Professional license you will get all future Professional versions of the the product.
"It's just about the greatest piece of software I've ever used. It's turned hours and hours of XML tweaking into minutes."
Tim Huntley - SharePoint Developer at SDC Technologies
"Whenever I explain my students the BDC Meta Model and show them how much effort it costs, they are surprised there isn't any out-of-the-box tooling available. With the BDC MetaMan I can show them it's possible to create a complete model in just a few minutes."
Bart Gunneman - SharePoint Trainer at Info Support
"You guys are definitely on my product recommendation list for a great product & excellent support!"
Dean Greenhorn - Network Administrator at Zedi