Clever Approaches For Software Acquisition
Posted by mike - 04/06/09 at 06:04 pmSpending nearly my entire career in the software world, not much has changed over these many years as it relates to obtaining software. I know, I know, Salesforce.com ushered in the whole “Software as a Service” model a few years back, which I applaud, but they like everyone else it seems still offer only long-term contractual plans. Nothing wrong with that of course as they are trying to have a predictable and sustainable revenue outlook as a public company. But when it comes to considering the viewpoint of the actual user, well, nothing much has changed. Until now.
One thing none of us needs to be reminded about is the sorry state of affairs in the economy today. Yet business must not only go on, it must also take this time to improve its operations, customer relationships, and company values, even to the point of being counterintuitive to the fearful herd mentality shaking the markets. Add to that the greater balance, if not altogether difficulty, required during these times between need vs. ability to do something about it - in other words, to pay for it. Where change is concerned more options equates to smarter choices and more-likely successful outcomes.
Tough times invites new opportunities brought about by insightful entrepreneurs, helping to introduce newness at the destructive expense of oldness or sameness. I came across one of these types of organizations who “get” the dilemma being faced today by small and medium sized business owners who are faced with ineffective and inefficient accounting systems, who also may be looking at customer relationship management systems (CRM) as well. So what twist do they offer that sounds so practical and useful - especially from the perspective of the business owner/manager - yet has not occurred to other software providers? It is simply this: a monthly subscription service offering a no-contract/no-risk option that is a true pay-as-you-go approach to being able to obtain all of the benefits of robust accounting software without any of the financial long-term obligations that normally accompany it.
Imagine eliminating in your own environment the risk of an all-too-frequently played out scenario faced by countless other small and medium sized businesses whereby after believing that they have selected the right software solution, signed a contract committing themselves to long-term obligations, only to then find out that the software is not a fit sadly realizing that they have to live with it afterall due to that usurious contractual obligation. Strike two for the traditionalists.
So, if you are in the position of considering changing your accounting systems, then you might want to take a look at turnON!accounting (www.turnonaccounting.com) who by the way are one of the elite Microsoft Dynamics Resellers ranking in the top 3% of Microsoft Resellers in the country. They provide the other longstanding methods to obtain the software too of course, that being licensing with annual maintenance fees; long-term contractual software-as-a-service hosting options, and a few hybrids as well. And you can switch from one to any other without any penalty on top of that as well.
Oh, and one other clever idea that they have. They’ll provide a free license to the bookkeeper or accountant handling the financial affairs of these small and medium sized businesses to eliminate all time and communication obstacles that otherwise occur helping to further bring down the costs to the merchant. Companies like this deserve to gain the attention they deserve when they so usefully help their clients.
