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.