How many IMatch Users are there?

[BanjoTom]

I don't want to find out or reveal any private or proprietary information, but in telling some friends about IMatch yesterday, the general question came up:

How Many IMatch Users Are There? 

It would be interesting to know -- only in the most general terms -- how many users of IMatch there are, and in more detail, how are our numbers are distributed around the world, perhaps by country or by continent . . . ?

As an avid user and supporter of IMatch, I hope that -- whatever the approximate numbers are NOW -- that we can help to increase them by constantly spreading the word about this essential and indispensable software.

[Mario]

Sorry, I don't reveal such numbers or other information about my users.
The last time I looked, IMatch was used in almost 70 countries. And there are far more users than members in this community.

Many users just buy IMatch and I never hear from them again until they buy the next upgrade 
Or when they contact me after years and ask if 600,000 files is too much for IMatch - which happened just this week... 

The number of users is not important in the case of IMatch. More important is the kind of support you get from me and this community. Which is, I have no doubt, better than for most 'major' products out there.

As I wrote in the What happens if Mario gets hit by a bus? the open system approach of IMatch makes users independent from it. No data is locked in, you are free to switch horses at any time. One of the primary goals for a good DAM, IMHO.

If you don't purchase an upgrade, IMatch for Windows will continue to work.
If you want to switch to another software, all your data travels with your files automatically. And even the proprietary IMatch data like Categories or Attributes can be exported in many ways, with tools already included in IMatch. Then it only depends on how flexible your new DAM solution is whether or not you can make use of your Categories and Attributes. If it is not able to import the data, you have picked the wrong DAM solution 

[BanjoTom]

Thanks, Mario.  It's enough to know there are users in almost 70 countries; and I certainly understand and respect your policy to NOT reveal specific information about your user-base.  I posted my question because a scientist friend to whom I was showing off the software asked me that. 

Whenever I introduce others to IMatch, I like giving them an actual demonstration of how I use it, and they are always quite impressed, even though I never am able to show off all the program's features, for there are SO many, and like most users, I do not make regular use of all of them.  Beyond that, I routinely extol the unmatched support provided for IMatch in three places: from you, Mario; from the large and committed base of users on this "Photools.Community" forum; and from the amazingly thorough and complete help file that is part of IMatch itself.