Re: Fair software pricing models

["Brad Jensen" <brad@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Good Lord - why do you need a key at all? Do you *really* think
that large
> shops are
> going to try to stiff you over a support fee, or that small
shops are really
> going to have
> so many users?


MIS managers and personnel change, and they don't have us at the
top of their attention list. A software key warns them if
something changes that shouldn't.

> If you do, then think out of the box.
>
> (1) Visit the site if you are afraid it is a large site. Get the
facts. Then
> set up a charge per
>       incident, or per hour for support with them.

Do you realize how resistant people are to these variable
"wing-it" pricing models?

Besides which, 'visit the site' ? Just get on an airplane and go.
Who pays for this? A couple of visits a year would cost more than
our maintenance.

> (2) Get the facts, if the site has a large machine because they
have to
> process something really
>       fast, but only a small number of users, charge
appropriately.

Again, there will be howling and screaming. It won't work.

> (3) If a site has multiple machines running the same product,
charge support
> by the number of users,
>       or more likley, do #1 above. Let the customer decide what
a support
> incident is worth.

We discount software and maintenance for multiple machines.