The annoying thing is, I can't use LispWorks with an RDBMS unless I pay for the Enterprise Edition. So I can't even do a pilot project without it being "official" within the company. So there is zero possibility of a grassroots adoption happening.
Contrast this with Oracle. One of the most money-obsessed companies in the world, I'm sure we'd all agree. But you can download Oracle Enterprise Edition for free with zero fuss and kick the tyres. They don't care, no time limit or size limit or anything, until you go into production with it.
You can't also access an RDBMs from C without paying for Visual Studio Enterprise Edition, or using any of the myriad of Free compilers out there that are much better anyway, which everyone else uses.
That's really simple. You can get time limited full versions of LispWorks Enterprise from them. Let them know how long you need to evaluate the product.
Contrast this with Oracle. One of the most money-obsessed companies in the world, I'm sure we'd all agree. But you can download Oracle Enterprise Edition for free with zero fuss and kick the tyres. They don't care, no time limit or size limit or anything, until you go into production with it.