There is a reason why the original program, Crestron/AMX/RTI and even URC, is a proprietary software and ONLY dealer accessible. What was their reason in the first place to make it dealer ONLY?
There are a few "snatch and grab" companies out there and they continue to come and go. Customers who buy into what they are selling is a shame but then again "you get what you pay for."
There are other reasons we could jump into where; "so and so pissed me off and I don't want them to finish this project, will you finish it for me?" Better yet the customer owes a few thousand and doesn't want to pay the original company so he hires a smaller company that rips into the system, finished the job for less and now has the program that the first company started.
Here is the bottom line to this! Accountablity! Responsiblity! Even if a company has to go under, I think it should be the responsibilty of said company to pass off the program to the customer when they close the doors. But this may be asking too much. Maybe we can do like Microsoft does with their software. 5 years and then they have to upgrade to the next "OS".
No one will ever win this thread. Both sides will continue to discuss or debate this until the end of time. Both the customer side and the business side have great points but I'm afraid that the human element will always win....... Whatever is best for me.