eNewsletter

November 2008

Optimizing Your Customer Service and Support Strategy
J.R. Sloan, Syntellect

Today, software companies must not only provide great products, but deliver solid customer service and technical support at an affordable cost as well. As a result of the Internet explosion, customers are demanding that they be able to reach you anytime, anywhere and through the communication channel of their choice. And since the phone remains the channel of choice for most, how do you meet expectations for phone-based service without breaking the bank? ...read more

Accenture Releases a New Software Pricing Report

Accenture has issued a new report that identifies and describes several software pricing problems and offers recommendations for how to address them.
A few of the key findings:
• Enterprise software deals are being clinched largely because of off-list pricing discounts up to 70 percent.
• In packaged software, there are literally thousands of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) for what is really one product. This makes for more price points than the channel can digest, and a more complex channel management problem than is desirable for any software vendor.
• Venture capital is no longer flowing strongly toward the software sector.
• Independent studies confirm a widening gap between what software vendors offer in terms of licensing and pricing and what enterprise customers actually want. …click here to download the entire report

Vista Equity Partners Closes Investment Fund for Software Investments

Vista Equity Partners, a private investment firm, has closed Vista Equity Partners Fund III (VEPF III) with approximately $1.3 billion in capital commitments. VEPF III is Vista’s first institutional fund, with investors including pension funds, corporate investors, fund-of-funds and high net worth individuals. 

Vista focuses on investments in middle-market enterprise software businesses and technology-enabled solutions companies.  Over the past eight years of investing in and transforming the operations of software companies, Vista has developed extensive operational and financial expertise in the industry.  Through its hands-on approach the Vista team of 18 investment and operations professionals work with portfolio company management to implement sustainable operational transformations and to develop world-class management capabilities to rapidly enhance company value. 

“We are extremely pleased to close this fund with strong support from a wide range of investors,” said Robert Smith, managing principal at Vista.  “Despite widespread problems in the financial markets, we found our investors’ appetite remains strong for experienced investment teams with differentiated approaches and proven strategies.” 

SAP and the SAP User Group Executive Network Liaise to Quantify Value of New SAP Support Offering

In an effort to deliver SAP enterprise support in closer alignment with customer expectations, SAP and the SAP User Group Executive Network (SUGEN), a global federation of twelve SAP user groups, have established a collaborative effort to represent the collective view of members' strategic issues. SUGEN has announced the progress of an SAP Enterprise Support task force, established to aggregate member feedback on SAP Enterprise Support, that the company announced in June, 2008.

The charter for the SUGEN-led task force is to communicate collective member feedback and to ensure the value delivery of SAP Enterprise Support. The task force shared with SAP the feedback from a SUGEN member survey designed to measure customer perceptions of the business value of SAP Enterprise Support. Survey feedback indicated that 90 percent of respondents have not yet realized the full extent of the SAP Enterprise Support offering, its value and cost justification.

In a showing of its commitment to SAP Enterprise Support, SAP has set up a joint team with SUGEN to establish value key performance indicators (KPIs) for SAP Enterprise Support. SUGEN and SAP will jointly evaluate the progress of these KPIs against customer expectations on a regular basis and adjust the continued rollout of SAP Enterprise Support until the quality measures are achieved.

Intraware Announces Definitive Agreement to be Acquired by Acresso Software, a Thoma Bravo company, in a Transaction Valued at Approximately $27 Million

Intraware, Inc., a provider of digital delivery and management services, and Acresso, a privately-held company of Thoma Bravo, have entered into a definitive agreement under which Intraware will be acquired in a transaction valued at approximately $27 million, or $4.00 per share of common stock.

Under the terms of the agreement, Intraware common stockholders will receive $4.00 in cash in exchange for each share of stock. The board of directors of Intraware has approved the agreement and has recommended to Intraware's stockholders that they vote in favor of the transaction.

The transaction is expected to close in December 2008 or January 2009, subject to customary conditions, including approval by Intraware stockholders. The completion of the transaction is not subject to any financing contingency. Upon closing, Intraware will no longer be publicly traded and the new company will be privately held by Acresso, an affiliate of Thoma Bravo.

SaaS & SLAM 2009 Call for Presentations
SaaS and SLAM 2009, April 28-29 in Boston, is focused on the economics of managing, transitioning and starting software as a service companies and the successful business development models, sales strategies, channel development and marketing issues facing software companies. As two separate and successful events in 2008, SaaS Economics and SLAM (Sales, Licensing, Alliances & Marketing) have been combined in 2009 to provide an extensive and comprehensive conference.

Call for Presentations
The deadline to submit an abstract is November 14th. Submission sought for include:
• Software as a Service Models
• Open Source
• Angel Funding
• Raising Capital
• Managing Subscriptions and Licenses
• Market Analysis and Benchmarking of SaaS Companies
• Valuation of SaaS Sales and Exit Strategies
• Case Studies of Leading and Emerging SaaS Vendors
• Pricing, Licensing and Sales Programs
• Channel Sales and Marketing
• Marketing and Branding
• Partnering and Alliance Programs
• Product & Service Development
• Distribution, Customer Service and Support

For details on submitting an abstract, please visit: http://www.softwarebusinessonline.com/conf2009/SaaS_SLAM/conf2009_presentations.php.

December

1-4 - Voices That Matter: Crafting Software Conference, San Francisco, Calif.

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