Five Steps To Building A Recession-Proof Packaged Applications Strategy

Traditional ISVs must help enterprise customers optimize their software investments during the downturn.

By R "Ray" Wang, Forrester Research

Software vendors are aware that enterprise customers face tremendous change from new business models, economic crises, changing workforce dynamics, and technology advancement. Recent recessionary forces challenge business leaders to achieve sustainable change, identify opportunities to make business processes more efficient, choose the most effective technology strategy, and reexamine vendor relationships.

Their near-term goal: Find ways to optimize existing investments in packaged apps in order to free up money to fund not only budget cuts but also potential revenue sources for innovation. Software companies must understand their clients' strategies for success in a recession.. Here are five steps enterprise customers should consider.

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What Software Vendors can Learn From Amazon.com

Ranjit Nayak of eVapt says dynamic pricing can help improve margins, and can ensure that prices are up to date with your current needs and market demand pricing software to provide accurate recommendations. Read why in this post to the SandHill.com Blog on software pricing.

A New Hope for a Linux Desktop

Linux continues to gain share – albeit slowly – in the enterprise. But Guy Smith of Silicon Strategies Marketing says its big leap forward will come from consumers. Really. Read his rationale in this post to the SandHill.com Blog on open source.

10 Predictions for BI in ‘09

Gartner says it is a "hot" technology for 2009. Read Actuate's forecast for the business intelligence in this post to the SandHill.com Blog, Predictions for 2009.

Publish Your Perspective!

SandHill.com wants your opinions. Send your thoughts on the enterprise software industry to SandHill.com editor, Maryann Jones Thompson (maryann@sandhill.com) and have your opinions published on our site.

DON'T MISS: How Companies Make Good Decisions

Companies get a lot of advice about how to make good decisions. Which decision-making disciplines really make a difference? Find out in this article from The McKinsey Quarterly.

News Update: Mandated Openness

Will open source gain from a losing economy? Plus, Gates releases bugs, SAP goes easy and IBM offers repatriation. Read these stories and more software news of the week in the latest SandHill.com Software News Summary.

Poll: Packaged Apps in 2009?

How will enterprise customers succeed with traditional packaged apps this year?
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Last week, readers debated the best way to engage customers in 2009.
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More at SandHill.com:

Salesforce.com's president quits; no replacement named.
Read the most important enterprise software industry news of the week >>

Teliris received $11 million.
Monitor the latest software venture capital deals >>

Oracle acquires mValent.
Size up last week’s software M&A deals >>

SpringSource named Shaun Connolly VP of product management.
See who’s made it to the top in our list of recent software executive appointments.

Send us your feedback on this newsletter and the SandHill.com site.

Parting Thought

“People don't resist change. They resist being changed!”
— Peter Senge

Courtesy of Malcolm Kusher, The Kushner Group

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