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发信人: gava (大马哈鱼：诗意地栖居在网络中), 信区: CompExpress
标题: 新一代软件企业形式-In Company
发信站: BBS 水木清华站 (Sun Feb 8 14:07:19 1998)

[37] Inside the new "In Company"
February 3, 1998

The Web has pushed traditional companies to scrap much of their
internal [IMAGE]information technology departments and turn to
"outsourcers" for their technology and development needs (See related
column.[38]) But this new breed of "outsourcers" varies significantly
from past IT outsourcing companies. These new companies, what I call
"In Companies," are actually the next generation of enterprise
software companies.

In Companies have a significantly different business model than
traditional enterprise software providers. The traditional software
business, for example, depends heavily on selling software licenses,
whereas In Companies blend a significant amount of services (both
professional and Web-based) into the mix of providing software. This
blend not only provides Out Companies with the services they need to
"Webify" significant portions of their businesses, but it could make
revenues for these new In Companies less volatile and more
predictable over time than those of their traditional
software-selling counterparts.

Unlike enterprise software companies of old, the new In Company isn't
overly dependent on a big, one-time fee. One of the most difficult
components of the enterprise software business model has been the
lack of visibility and predictability of the sales pipeline. The
result of seeking to close a large deal in the form of a big,
one-time fee (with less revenue coming from future upgrades) creates
a tremendous amount of pressure and uncertainty. In fact, customer
pipelines for enterprise software companies provide a false sense of
security: Customer pipelines may isolate potential sales targets, but
cannot account for variance based on unpredictable buying habits,
creating high levels of revenue-fluctuation--commonly referred to as
"seasonality" in trade vernacular. Believe it or not, it is typical
for enterprise software companies to book over 70 percent of their
revenues during the last two weeks of a given quarter. (In certain
cases, as much as 33 percent of revenues have been booked in the last
24 hours of a quarter! )

In Companies sell software as a service, thus collecting revenue
through a subscription-based business model. [IMAGE]Out Companies, on
the other hand, are more willing to subscribe to a service than to
buy a product. To begin with, subscriptions are smaller increments
invested over a longer period of time, rather than straight-out
purchases Additionally, subscriptions provide a greater sense of
mobility, of being able to move on if the service subscribed to isn't
proving to be worthwhile. It's important to remember, however, that
while subscriptions provide the perception of mobility, they are, in
fact, not necessarily easier to cancel. The level of knowledge and
customization that is invested by the customer throughout the life of
the subscription serves as incentive not to cancel.

Furthermore, subscriptions provide a more constant revenue stream, as
well as the ability to defer a significant amount of revenue over the
life of the subscription. By providing a more significant amount of
professional services and customization work, there are other,
ancillary revenue streams that contribute to overall revenues. This
can help protect these companies from seasonal weakness.

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