The Golden Age of Software Monetization
October 29, 2015
By
Mae Kowalke, TMCnet Contributor
Cloud services are revolutionizing many software developer business models. Even if your dev shop has not moved its offering to the cloud, however, chances are that your business is changing.
Software delivery has changed quite a bit in the past few years, and now offering boxed products and a single perpetual license scheme not only frustrates users, it leaves money on the table.
Software users are now more accustomed to paying only for what they need, and for adding functionality on an a la carte basis.
Developers that do not have a robust software licensing system in place are in danger of missing the opportunities, because there’s a constant need to adjust offerings as market opportunities present themselves. With a robust licensing management scheme, developers can make the adjustment relatively easily. But if their house is not in order, so to speak, these opportunities often will be missed.
They also will be missed if developers do not offer in-product analytics, as a recent Flexera blog post highlights, 4 Key Software Monetization Process Areas You Must Nail to Grow Your Business.
“Without mature in-product analytics processes in place you'll likely be making product decisions based on best guesses, anecdotal information or customer survey responses – not on empirical data,” noted the blog post. “Further, you won't get a true understanding of product version adoption for both product road map decision making and pro-active support.”
As the blog post noted, savvy software developers are using the change in software usage and expectations to make monetization more streamlined and efficient. In-app analytics help, as does having a licensing management system that can support nimble adjustments in product offerings. But software updates also help, because they paint a better picture of the software actually in use and suggest upsell and cross-sell opportunities. There was a time when users manually updated software, but now they expect developers to keep them current. This can be a boon for sales insight.
Of course, not all developers have embraced these trends. But they should. It is a golden age of software monetization, and living in the past is akin to leaving money on the table in this software use environment.
Edited by Maurice Nagle