The study is for process efficiently and prompts software product delivery using ESDM . To compete in the most advanced enterprises, a software publisher must offer state-of-the-art delivery options.
The demands on an in-house software delivery infrastructure are more strategic, stringent and complex.
And security, yet they want delivery to be swift and simple.
To meet current enterprise demands, software publishers must establish a sophisticated network of high performance file servers that can work together to provide automatic fail over in the case of outages and Workload balancing to offset delays caused by high volumes of requests. These servers must be capable of Delivering software in a variety of formats preferably customized to the user’s request. The software must be delivered with a high degree of security, often to overseas locations that may have stringent restrictions and/or tariffs on imported software or levels of encryption. Providers must build systems that not only deliver software, but also manage access to it, so that only customers who have valid maintenance contract entitlements and licenses to the software are allowed access.
Given these new issues and challenges, many software publishers are discovering that electronic software
Delivery and management (ESDM) can be an elegant and economic solution that has great strategic value. With ESDM, software publishers can integrate and streamline product release, delivery, support and other Business processes to reduce costs, accelerate time to market and revenue recognition, and improve software Asset management (both for themselves and for the customer), and to maximize revenues through better Support of maintenance and subscription-based business models.
In evaluating ESDM strategies, the software publisher essentially has three alternatives that will impact
Operational efficiency, costs, and the ability to establish additional revenue streams in varying degrees
- Present delivery system
- Build a new delivery system
- Buy a new delivery system
Present Delivery service
Software makers can choose to continue to rely on physical media and/or unstructured methods of software delivery, such as e-mail or ad hoc file transfer. While the physical-media strategy seems expeditious in the short term, it has little strategic value and is actually a more costly approach than ESDM over the long term. The process of creating, copying and distributing CDs is slow, expensive and resource-intensive for the provider, while electronic delivery methods entail fewer steps, lower overhead, and provide the fastest mechanism to deliver the publisher’s products to customers. For providers that specialize in enterprise-class software, the most business-efficient delivery method is electronic, with physical media serving only as a backup. As a long-term strategy then, “do nothing” is simply not an option for enterprise software publishers. To achieve cost efficiency and meet the needs of their enterprise customers, software publishers must develop an infrastructure for delivering software to the client and managing it afterwards, on an ongoing basis
Build a new delivery system
The software publisher can internally develop and/or enhance a custom software delivery and
Management system. To meet current enterprise demands, software publishers must establish a sophisticated network of high performance file servers that can work together to provide automatic fail over in the case of outages and workload balancing to offset delays caused by high volumes of requests. These servers must be capable of delivering software in a variety of formats, preferably customized to the user’s request. The software must be delivered with a high degree of security, often to overseas locations that may have stringent restrictions and/or tariffs on imported software or levels of encryption. Providers must build systems that not only deliver software, but also manage access to it, so that only customers who have valid maintenance contract entitlements and licenses to the software are allowed access. As with physical-media delivery, an in-house electronic delivery system may initially seem to be a simple, low-cost solution. An in-house server (or servers) can often be found in the provider’s existing inventory and, if the in-house staff does all of the initial startup work, there are no new costs associated with a custom developed software delivery system. This do-it-yourself approach is attractive to many technical staffers who feel they already have the know-how and equipment needed to make the delivery system fly.
In reality, there are hidden costs associated with a custom-developed software delivery system . Todays Software delivery infrastructure must support a number of interdependent servers and applications, requiring expertise and technology in networking, traffic management and high availability. The implementation of such an infrastructure can be both costly and resource-intensive, as it requires both sophisticated programming and state-of-the-art equipment. Even more importantly, these costs are not eliminated when the delivery infrastructure is up and running. There is a constant need for monitoring and maintenance by in-house IT staff whose skills might be better devoted to the software publisher’s core business. The challenge of operating an in-house delivery system has only begun when the initial delivery infrastructure is completed.
Finally, most custom-developed software delivery systems do not offer sophisticated reporting capabilities .That enables enterprises to track usage or administer licensed software. The in-house system typically is simply not designed to provide these administrative capabilities to software publishers and end users, and therefore, comes up short in its ability to support a more personalized relationship between software supplier and customer.
Buy a new delivery system
Even though software distribution tools have been available for more than a decade, most software
Publishers continue to rely on custom systems, which previously were the only systems to offer digital delivery capability. The software maker can seek out a third-party ESDM specialist to provide the software and/or services required to create a fully featured ESDM solution. Even though software distribution tools have been available for more than a decade, most software publishers continue to rely on custom systems, which previously were the only systems to offer digital delivery capability. Unfortunately for the software provider, most of these solutions were targeted at the end user market, and very few of them offered the scalability or functionality required for the enterprise software publisher Market
ESDM service provider
ESDM service provider builds and maintains the infrastructure required to deliver and manage enterprise-class software, and then leases it out to multiple clients, much as a telecommunications carrier builds and leases out its infrastructure for voice and data communications.
ESDM service providers do not simply sell a packaged tool to aid in software delivery. They are full service contractors who can help enterprise software publishers develop a strategy for software delivery; “package” their products for efficient download; ensure and track the arrival of applications; and provide an array of tools to both the publisher and the publisher’s customers, and manage the software after it is delivered, even down to the desktop. They do all this behind the scenes, so that it is transparent to the publisher’s customers. Essentially an outsourcing company, an ESDM service provider offers a number of capabilities and characteristics that a software publisher typically does not have, including:
Integration
An ESDM provider should provide a solution that can be rapidly and easily integrated
Into existing ERP and CRM systems (i.e., a comprehensive set of APIs), so that the service can be Automated. The benefits of integration and automation are enormous. ESDM becomes an integral part Of the sales, product release and support processes. It enables the publisher to take advantage of data
About customers and the products they are using, and it allows integration with electronic license delivery, Automated updates, print-on-demand, e-commerce, localization and other value-added services.
Control
Solutions from ESDM providers usually include an array of administrative tools, seldom
found in in-house systems, that give the software publisher real-time, granular control over what they sell, release and deliver to customers. Examples include tools for: entitlement (order) and subscription
management; a way to manage complex product and file hierarchies, proactive email communication Options and extensive ad hoc reporting capabilities.
Expertise.
An ESDM provider specializes in the technologies and processes surrounding software delivery to enterprise-class customers. It offers skill sets seldom found in an in-house staff, including knowledge of best practices, software management techniques and international regulatory policies.
The functionality of an established ESDM service will always be far more sophisticated than an inhouse
solution, given the maturity of the service and the ongoing feedback from a diverse customer set.
Resources.
With a dedicated and highly skilled staff of engineers, system administrators, operations, support, and product managers, in addition to a sophisticated infrastructure, the ESDM provider can immediately deliver capabilities, service levels, and ongoing enhancements that would take most software publishers years to build.The quantity of resources that the ESDM provider allows a software publisher to outsource reduces their IT costs, freeing up internal resources for more strategic projects.
Efficiency.
The ESDM provider also offers economies of scale that enable it to offer more sophisticated delivery and management capabilities than any single software maker and at a lower operating cost. In addition, because ESDM is usually its core expertise, the ESDM provider’s infrastructure has been tested across many software vendors and applications, and it offers a higher degree of reliability and uptime than any custom-developed digital delivery system. Lastly, a good ESDM provider will have a proven track record of on-schedule, fast ESDM site implementation, enabling the software publisher to avoid the cost overruns and risks frequently observed with internal projects. The time to market of an outsourced ESDM solution will be much faster than an in-house implementation.
Predictability
While custom-developed delivery systems may seem to offer a low cost of implementation, most software publishers have discovered that they also incur unexpected costs, such as the need for server replacement, upgrades, load balancing technology or backup systems that generally are unplanned and out of budget. An ESDM provider, on the other hand, offers predictable monthly costs that can be budgeted well in advance, even during spikes in demand. In addition, the ESDM providers are typically prepared to put a real commitment behind their service deliverables through the use of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with financial commitments around implementation schedules, site availability, and performance
Conclusion
In most cases, the “buy” alternative offers significant advantages over the “build” option. While it may take some time to rewrite the conventional wisdom that has led software makers to build in-house systems in years past, it is clear that software publishers have a relatively easy decision between “build” and “buy,” because the ESDM provider option continues to grow increasingly more attractive
