Re:Companies fret as costs soar for software subscriptions (...
by TheOtherHobbes on Friday March 06, 2020 @06:11AM
(#22502689)
Software isn't expensive because it's niche.
It's about case and effect: seat costs for specialised tools are high because they can be. People with limited B2B experience underestimate just how much cash large corporates can throw around without even noticing, and how rarely ROI is assessed on this spending.
The development costs required to create a competitor to an industry standard product can be relatively small. (Sometimes they aren't - but they can be.) The real costs are in marketing and sales.
Quicken doesn't do anything outstandingly clever, but good luck trying to sell your new competitor to existing accountants.
Generally there's only a change if the incumbent gets too greedy and complacent, or if the industry changes significantly and a new generation of companies appears with new ideas about which software is "standard."
It's about case and effect: seat costs for specialised tools are high because they can be. People with limited B2B experience underestimate just how much cash large corporates can throw around without even noticing, and how rarely ROI is assessed on this spending.
The development costs required to create a competitor to an industry standard product can be relatively small. (Sometimes they aren't - but they can be.) The real costs are in marketing and sales.
Quicken doesn't do anything outstandingly clever, but good luck trying to sell your new competitor to existing accountants.
Generally there's only a change if the incumbent gets too greedy and complacent, or if the industry changes significantly and a new generation of companies appears with new ideas about which software is "standard."