Software Monetization Featured Article

The world is changing. It’s becoming more dependent upon software. So companies that sell hardware need to figure out how to drive more value through software. And software companies need to make sure they’re providing their customers and partners with optimal experiences. These trends are driving more businesses to adopt software monetization solutions.

Dave DiMillo, who is head of software monetization solution sales at Gemalto, said he was recently talking to a U.K.-based company that provides building systems for hospitals, prisons, and other environments. And his client made the following comment: “This is our Polaroid moment. If we don't learn how to sell software, we go out of business.”

This comment illustrates how important it is for hardware companies to transition to more software-based solutions. But that’s easier said than done. Getting into the software game entails a laundry list of new considerations and requirements including electronic software delivery, usage tracking data, and warranty and SLA contracts, added DiMillo of Gemalto (News - Alert).

Gemalto should know. The company itself started out as a hardware company and is transitioning to deliver more software-centric solutions. And it hired on Vickie White to lead the charge.  “I’m an internal customer that can talk through some examples of what we’re going through as we go through this journey,” said White, Gemalto’s director of virtual products, during a recent webinar.

The five steps in the software go-to-market lifecycle, she explained, include build, sell, fulfill, maintain, and renewal.

As businesses build software solutions, she said, they should understand that this transition will require broader participation than just the operations department. Sure, operations needs to be involved, she said, but so do team members in engineering and product management.

The product management folks need to decide what the offer will look like in terms of features, pricing, release management, and packaging, she said. Engineering needs to be there to address ISO and binary management for each release version, and to define licensable features. And operations can do work related to the bill of materials PLM system, part numbers, and product catalog.

Since the world is moving to software, it makes sense to use software and online resources to enable customers and channel partners to place their orders for these solutions (sell), to allow customers to submit tickets online when they require support (maintain), and to leverage messaging to keep customers up to date on the latest releases and new offers, she added.

Using a single, management system to do all of that and more makes life a whole lot easier, she said. And centralizing management of all of the above allows for more control of software distribution and management.

Manoj Tharakan, principal solutions architect of software monetization at Gemalto, added that when businesses are making the decision whether to build or buy a software monetization they should consider the following things.

• Will the solution scale as needed?
• Will it be able to support new business models as they arise?
• Will it enable me to focus more on my core business?
• And will the solution I’m considering allow my business to remain competitive over time?