PeakGrowth 

Pretty sure how pretty a platform looks is not correlated to how much money you make. Pretty platforms appeal to retail amateur traders - I am sure the bezel buttons on other platforms make you happy.

Not really, i think this is year 2015 and there's no reason for anything to look so bad. It kills productivity big time. As a visionary person, I recommend everyone to catch up with this century. Googleize it. Otherwise, you end up selling your less and less relevant product for 30 bucks.. cough

johndee 

Not really, i think this is year 2015 and there's no reason for anything to look so bad. It kills productivity big time. As a visionary person, I recommend everyone to catch up with this century. Googleize it. Otherwise, you end up selling your less and less relevant product for 30 bucks.. cough

The OOBE experience is terrible. I've expressed my opinion about this countless times. That said, I am not sure it is fair to say it results in lower efficiency/productivity. Sure, there are things I dislike about the structure, but that is going to be true of any platform (and I've used many) and will never change until the day you write your own.

The bigger concern, in my opinion, is that the poor OOBE experience lends itself to a very low conversion/attach rate of new customers that try Sierra for the first time, then stop almost immediately because the program feels so out of date. Or those that don't even download it, because the screenshots of it look so out of date.

That creates a problem for the continuing support of the platform, because it means a lower adoption rate and less new customers providing revenue for the company.

If Sierra were visually up-to-date with modern apps, I have a feeling that Sierra's team couldn't keep up with demand. I believe they purposely don't pursue that approach because they don't want to expand their customer base too much, they are comfortable where they are.

So long as they don't go out of business due to that approach, I'm fine with it and I think that my charts and my DOM especially are cutting edge, once you give it enough time to make them your own.

Mike

Agreed, Sierra seems to publish only the worst and most outdated looking stuff out there, with zero regard to customer attraction. Marketing people, they are not, but it's fantastic software once you spend some time with it. I ditched 2 other platforms that I paid lifetime licenses for and lease this yearly now, because it can do things that the others cant

They are like Huy Fong Sriracha Sauce just growing year after year by word of mouth, zero marketing budget.

I've used NinjaTrader for about 1.5 years, Sierra for about 2 years, TWS for about 6 months, and my own 'platform' to cater for things that retail platforms generally can't do.

Out of the retail platforms Sierra is definitely the best. I haven't even scratched the surface with all the functionality it has to offer.

However different platforms have different strengths,...I haven't found a single platform that caters for everything, which is why I chop and change depending on what I need (and code my own solutions where there aren't any retail ones available).

But I agree 100% that out of the box Sierra certainly does look dated. I can't help but think this may be somewhat intentional. With all the power and functionality Sierra has it is clear the development team has what it takes to make an exceptional product, but it is also clear where the company's focus lies. Their focus is not on pretty buttons.

For those people out there who like pretty buttons there are platforms out there that will make you feel good about your choice. (whether that makes you a better trader is another thing). Sierra on the other hand will reward those who put the time in.

It would be great if Sierra had both looks and brains,....but if I have to only choose one then ill go for brains.

DarkPoolTrading 

I've used NinjaTrader for about 1.5 years, Sierra for about 2 years, TWS for about 6 months, and my own 'platform' to cater for things that retail platforms generally can't do. Out of the retail platforms Sierra is definitely the best. I haven't even scratched the surface with all the functionality it has to offer. However different platforms have different strengths,...I haven't found a single platform that caters for everything, which is why I chop and change depending on what I need (and code my own solutions where there aren't any retail ones available). But I agree 100% that out of the box Sierra certainly does look dated. I can't help but think this may be somewhat intentional. With all the power and functionality Sierra has it is clear the development team has what it takes to make an exceptional product, but it is also clear where the company's focus lies. Their focus is not on pretty buttons. For those people out there who like pretty buttons there are platforms out there that will make you feel good about your choice. (whether that makes you a better trader is another thing). Sierra on the other hand will reward those who put the time in. It would be great if Sierra had both looks and brains,....but if I have to only choose one then ill go for brains.

Nicely said!

The growth of Sierrachart came out of it's good features, not out of spending recklessly on fancy google ads.
What most do not realize that Sierra is a pure technology company, not a sales and marketing company that happen to have a platform. The subscription model that adopted is the best model to assure users that funds are always coming in order to make the product better.

Sadly, Sierra is is always choice #2. First customers have to go through those platforms that have the best marketing exposure, then land on it in order to appreciate it's stability, being light on resources and execution.
Yours truly is guilty of the same thing! I regret not giving them the stage they deserve amongst other platforms that put customers first.

Interface design is important, but it takes a lot of resources. This is a job of an expert that understand the interaction between machine and man. This is not only a matter of putting "pretty" buttons, etc. Yes, I would like to have a facelift for Sierra, but whether they do or not, those who really trade will have Sierra show up in their trading career.

Matt
Optimus Futures

There is a risk of loss in futures trading. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

cory 

.......just growing year after year by word of mouth, .......

@cory

But are they? I mean how do you know? I have not seen any data re their subscriber numbers, whereas NT often quote theirs (although I am not sure how they define a user eg I have an NT free licence and login once every 3 months to keep it live, but have not used it for trading for a couple of years).

I sure hope you are right re SC numbers growing. It is great software and deserves to enjoy increasing support from the trading community.

steve2222 

... But are they? I mean how do you know?...

I know because they are very busy, see here

Quoting 

If your question/request has been answered and you do not have anything further, then it is easiest for us if you do not reply again to say thank you.

steve2222 

@cory But are they? I mean how do you know?

I think they are. They've run multiple campaigns on the site now (with renewals) so I think their business is growing. Word of mouth is their most powerful tool, and probably everyone warns their friends that the OOBE is bad but don't get discouraged -- give it a little time and you can customize it. From there, I think everyone agrees the platform is very powerful and has everything built-in, a very different model than some other platforms.

Mike

I don't see sierrachart graphical apparence so terrible, sure there is better.
But when I see one like @johndee I think he's an advance troll or spammer, he doesn't know what he speaks about.
Especially cause it seems he use MC that is not really user friendly. SC in comparison is a breeze.