If you hear the words “business software” and “reporting,” binders full of charts, spreadsheets and footnotes might come to mind. There are conference rooms that are filled with executives who are slogging through slide presentations. What’s missing in these images is the potential for creating value for businesses.
That’s changing due to a variety of digital technologies that are coming together to transform the future of reporting. Machine learning and cognitive tools will take on a lot of the tedious work of gathering data, constructing reports, and then disseminating reports. This will free human workers to do more interesting things.
Usage-based pricing is yet another way to assist teams to reap the benefits of data they already have more efficiently. This method allows businesses to better align the value of data to their expenditures by reducing the cost to access it.
Software companies must rethink their underlying principles of creating distribution, charging, and selling for their products if they wish to be successful in the Age of Connected Work. The winners in this new age will evolve what it means to be product-led in the truest sense and will use their products as engines for customer acquisition and retention as well as expansion. This will require a re-evaluation of strategic focus and a desire to expand “as-a service” offerings beyond membership fees. It will also require the incorporation of PLG principles into how they design, build and distribute their products. To stay ahead, businesses will need to create an extensive technology ecosystem that includes the strategies, stewardship and governance necessary to leverage data as an asset.
m&a tools for post-merger integration and smooth transition management