Arena... Shelby's red-headed step child

Offline jmills6 3 months ago

Is it just me or does it seem like Shelby is slowly letting Arena die? After sitting on the last webinar, which was probably 75% everything but Arena, I feel like I should be looking for something else. Even the new "product owner" didn't have much to say except that they are fixing bugs and the buttons in the GLT (and his personal blog he touts is 100% Shelby Next Financials). How about we see an update on the Giving interface and getting that more in line with current trends? One of my co-workers just asked about a Shelby Systems email they got about Worship Planning, not understanding that it seems ALL Shelby emails refer to Next products, not Arena... In fact, looking at their website, Arena is not even listed as a product anymore. The only place I found it was under the support tab. I'd love to be proven wrong about this. Please, someone make me feel better about the investment we made 4 years ago.

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Offline colmstead 3 months ago

I agree. We have been feeling that same degradation of Arena but each time I have asked I have been assured that this is not the case. They say Arena is being developed and is as viable a product as any of the other products. But, actions speak louder than words.

All action is currently focused on ShelbyNext. Arena didn't get included in the interface for the Ministry One app. Why? Arena didn't get included in the interface for Worship Planning. Why? Arena's Schedule View works well but desperately needs a few tweaks and upgrades. Nothing has been done to rectify those things (asked for by many people!) Why? The list goes on.

We have Arena set with many customized SPROCS that give our staff the information they need quickly and easily. Would we be able to customize ShelbyNext in the same manner? One customization is the ability to pull ALL parents of a child, regardless if they are in the same household or not. All our communications go to ALL parents. I have not seen this ability to connect with related parents anywhere else.

Honesty in this matter would be greatly appreciated. If Arena is going to remain viable, then we should see real updates made regularly. If Arena is going to languish and die, please let us know so we can plan accordingly.

Bottom line: Arena Churches do notice the silence on the product in which we have invested money, time and energy.
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Offline colmstead 3 months ago in reply to colmstead

Also... It feels like updates are being held hostage. They are available through the purchase of subscriptions to Kingdom First Solutions. The "solutions" were made available in the hub - for a fee. It is disappointing and disheartening to be forced to pay like this to get updates. That is not what we signed up for when we moved to Arena from V5.
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Offline gmaness 3 months ago in reply to colmstead

Are you referring to Arena updates or KFS updates? Arena updates are still available publicly from the downloads area of this community. The new Kingdom First Solutions package on the hub is for our new All Access package. It installs all our KFS custom Arena solutions and requires an active subscription with us to enable all of them. It is a new move in a strengthening relationship between KFS and ShelbySystems to make our solutions more accessible to more churches (Arena Hosted clients in particular).
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Offline colmstead 3 months ago in reply to gmaness

Guy, I appreciate what you do and the responsiveness of Kingdom First Solutions.I hear great things about your products.

The point is that it doesn't seem that the updates are happening within Arena. Much of what you have done at KFS is what has been asked for and sometimes listed as slated (road maps at ISC) and then never happen - or have not happened yet. We wait. We wait. We wait. Now for the past year the silence about Arena and its future has grown longer and longer. I don't think the leadership at Shelby recognizes that their Arena customers are feeling ignored.

While we wait, KFS solutions were offered through the hub for a monthly subscription fee. Then, all the shiny new bells and whistles are being added to (what feels like) all other platforms except Arena. What does this communicate to Arena customers?

For myself, and from conversations with other Arena Administrators and community posts I know there are many others who desire more information about Arena's future. I/we hope for a real response.
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Offline nangra 3 months ago in reply to gmaness

It seems to me that Shelby should be paying KFS for all the work and development that they've done. I'm inclined to drop Arena support and pay KFS instead. Especially if Shelby/Arena doesn't roll out anymore updates themselves.
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