Featured Article from Software Monetization

The cloud has afforded businesses all sorts of conveniences and opportunities previously off limits to most. In today’s services-driven economy, customers are demanding more value, better service and innovation, and they’re not afraid to do their research in order to find it. Businesses are under pressure to deliver that value while boosting revenues, innovating and simultaneously keeping their customers happy.

It’s a tall order, but the cloud has paved the way for an entirely new business landscape. That includes significant changes in how software is licensed, managed and monetized. Companies are moving out of their comfort zones to find new ways to maximize value for themselves and their customers. A recent LicensingLive! blog post discusses how significantly the cloud has impacted businesses and particularly how software licensing and monetization are being transformed.

In the 1990s, thought leaders Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema published a book recommending companies focus on one of three key areas of proficiency. They believed product differentiation, operational excellence and customer intimacy were the most valuable characteristics a company could offer its customers, but that businesses must not focus on more than one area or risk losing focus.

The cloud has pretty much leveled the playing field, enabling new channels of customer engagement and giving businesses the tools to compete on multiple fronts. The cloud emphasizes an application and services-driven technology landscape in which businesses are pressed to alter legacy software licensing and monetization models.

Cloud-based software licensing and monetization solutions address many of the challenges posed by the as-a-service and pay-per-use models now prevalent in the technology world. These types of offerings handle simple access and permissions issues while also aggregating data and generating valuable reports for tracking customer behavior and usage statistics.

Additional features may include licensing activation, entitlement management and enforcement, all of which enable companies to properly monitor and measure software and application usage. They also enable companies to provide customers with peace of mind that they are adhering to license and usage agreements, thereby removing the burden of compliance from customers.

Ultimately, cloud-based management and monetization solutions strengthen customer engagement and relationships while simultaneously helping businesses maximize their licensing revenues. They assist companies in excelling at all three proficiency areas singled out by Treacy and Wiersema – product differentiation, operational excellence and customer intimacy – offering compelling value for any company in the cloud age.