ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY
challenges with their software licenses. Among the top difficulties cited were inflexible license agreements that do not meet business needs, usage audits, slow time to activation, long customer onboarding, and lost licensing keys.
When the same 600 end users were asked how independent software vendors could improve their service, most agreed or strongly agreed that clarity around audits, usage tracking, pricing models and license enablement were all areas for improvement.
In addition, the survey asked enterprise users their opinions about packaging and delivery options, and separately asked independent software vendors about the types of packaging and delivery options they are currently providing to their customers.
The two main areas of difference are per feature and metered usage, where vendors did not seem to be keeping up with user demand.
Survey results, vendors While end users are frustrated, software vendors are facing challenges monetising their software, especially with back office tasks and licensing enforcement.
Amongst back-office challenges, 83 % of independent software vendor respondents claimed frustration with the cost of renewing and managing licenses, 82 % expressed frustration with the time spent renewing and managing licenses, and 82 % were frustrated with the research and development time spent on non-productrelated development.
In addition, 68 % of independent software vendor respondents said it was difficult to some degree to get visibility into how their products are being used. A quarter of respondents 24 %, said it was either very difficult or extremely difficult to get that visibility.
84 % of independent software vendor respondents worry that their software might become compromised, that is stolen or copied, and a full third of them 32 %, worry a lot. While slightly less than half 48 %, claim
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