Procurement of a lot of technology in the IT sector is heavily influenced via strong marketing and sometimes the merits of the actual product can get partially ignored.
Now is the time to break from the typical way software giants have been selling enterprise software and getting away with millions of dollars for their mediocre product and excruciatingly long release cycles.
The myth in procurement is that without at least 7 figures on a cheque, you cannot get a secure, reliable enterprise software with all the features you need and more. However, quality software does not always require a lot of money, and especially now where technology has been a great equalizer and enabler.
One of the most exciting spaces for SaaS software or software, in particular, has been customer experience – whether you talk about marketing automation, customer engagement, insights, real-time dashboards, or advertising. We have many wonderful and innovative sprouting all over – Clevertap for increasing user engagement, Locobuzz for consumer insights and support, Drift for conversational commerce, etc.
Procurement in the IT sector is highly specialized, and sometimes it is easy to give in to the big names in tech when buying a product. But the nature of procurement is much more than just purchasing a software – it is about making sure that the technology adds value, in time and has a measurable return on investment. You need to make sure revision cycles will meet the fast-paced world of customer expectations.
Most enterprise giants spend large amounts of resources to maintain their privileged status in the IT industry. Such industry giants may not drive innovation in the tech sector as much as refine the tastes acquired through wining, dining, and fancy conferences. Their time and resources are spent on maintaining their market value rather than delivering on the best product. Smaller companies like Locobuzz are focused on cutting the costs and improving the performance of their product, thereby creating products that are better suited to the needs and wallets of businesses.
While different enterprise giants may each have individual challenges or advantages, the two constant drawbacks remain:
Pricing
Release Cycles
The pricing models of enterprise giants lack transparency. Millions of dollars are spent on marketing, rather than product development – And the consumer is left paying the bill.
The other important factor to consider when procuring technology is its speed. A lot of expensive technology may fall short in delivering on a fast enough pace at which new features can be added and in the time that they go live.
Brands must reimagine what they can get more value out of the software industry! The rapid strides in technology has led to better, faster, and cheaper technology to monitor, analyze, manage consumer response and experience. It has changed the game, and the time is now to revisit how you are buying your software!