Thoughts on Patron Manager

While watching the webinar last week, I maintained a compare&contrast perspective in regard to Patron Manager vs. OvationTix.  It seems that Patron Manager is a much more well-rounded program, and includes more tools particularly for donor cultivation and gift stewardship.  I appreciated that the CRM snapshot component allowed for a more targeted solicitation campaign based on information and choices stored in the program.  OvationTix on the other hand focuses more successfully on the ticket purchasing/reservations component; while there is a profile feature that could allow for donor cultivation, it seems less user-friendly and useful than that of Patron Manager.  However, that could change with time and it could develop into a totally competitive program.
One component of Patron Manager that I imagine could be especially useful is the dashboard.  I appreciate that one click of a button can create a graph from any information the user wishes to input.  The dashboard automatically updates in real time, so all members of a team can be constantly aware of changes in sales/donations/participation/etc.
With this sort of "immediate gratification" and its Facebook-style "Chatter" communication component, Patron Manager is a modern performing arts manager's dream.  In a constantly evolving society, we need tools that not only help us keep up, but can keep up themselves.
Which brings me to the one question I was able to ask in the Q&A, which was essentially "As social networking becomes more advanced and more pervasive, how does Patron Manager intend to keep up?"  Our guide explained to me that because Patron Manager is web based, it can alter and add features at a very fast pace.  She mentioned that in 2011, there were 6 new updates to the program, and in 2012, they have 5 planned updates to existing features alone.  Unfortunately, then my work phone rang and I was unable to listen to the conclusion of her answer; however, I do think that this is very promising as  a program is concerned.  Software needs to be able to keep up with the needs of its users, and a web based software can do that more seamlessly than an installation can.  She explained that often these updates are unannounced, and users will log in one day and see a new feature or a changed feature that they can learn.  This is how people learn these days (Facebook's constant lay-out changes, like the new Timeline, are an example of this) and I think it's beneficial for both the software developer and user to mimic this pattern.