Firms continue to find thesoftware licensing modelsof their
suppliers a source of headaches, according to a report published by
analyst Forrester.
Forrester interviewed 25 clients of leading enterprise
applications providers and surveyed 215 business process and
applications professionals about their software licensing and
pricing experiences to produce
the report.
According to these users, software licensing and pricing
continues to be marred by complexity, soaring maintenance costs and
a lack of flexibility and alignment with business goals, said
Forrester.
"While suppliers work to find the balance that works for them
and their clients, a number have made progress by simplifying the
process, offering customer-focused management, and empowering
clients," says Forrester.
Forrester says future application innovation trends such as
service-oriented
architecture and
software as a service will be the impetus behind a shift in how
firms view apps licensing and pricing, and what they demand from
apps providers.
In the meantime, business process and applications professionals
"must arm their firms to mitigate licensing pain points", said the
analyst.