Featured Article from Software Licensing

Gleaning the most value out of the technology products and services they are marketing and selling is a perennial challenge for many businesses. The most innovative and in-demand solutions may make a big splash when they initially hit the market, but can they deliver value over the long term?

Careful planning is the key to better decision-making when developing a roadmap for the sale of technology solutions. Thankfully, there are some helpful tools available to aid companies with their planning and execution. According to Flexera Software, product analytics are a key component to better product planning and lifecycle decisions.

Gartner (News - Alert) describes product analytics as a specialized application of business intelligence and analytical software. Solutions factor in service reports, product returns and warranties, customer feedback and data from embedded sensors, combining this information to evaluate product defects, identify areas ripe for improvement and detect usage and capacity patterns. Analytics may also include social media feedback on complaints and reviews, providing a direct link to customers.

Product analytics examine data feeds in real time, tipping off businesses about service and replacement issues for reactive and preventive maintenance, and also take advantage of M2M solutions to accomplish this task remotely. The result is that companies may use valuable demographic information to guide their planning and provide appropriate customer support, leading to a better return over the lifecycle of their product or service offering.

Flexera adds that analytics make product roadmap planning more accurate specifically because they show businesses which products and features are actually being used by customers. Similarly, demographic data on users is valuable for planning OS and platform support and interoperability. Analytics also aid with end-of-life planning as businesses seek to phase out outdated product releases and versions.

Businesses may have the best of intentions when planning out the lifecycle of their latest and greatest product or service. But how that offering is adopted and used by customers is another story entirely, and product analytics provide that important information to companies. The result is better decision-making and investment strategies over the long term and an overall better return on investment over the lifespan of the solution.