As well as a rapid change in technologies and the range of business problems that can be solved, we see a dramatic change in the commercial practices of those that sell IT solutions to retail, logistics and other verticals. A new breed of suppliers has entered the market in recent years, not only bringing new solution to market, but also modern commercial practices.

In the epos space this is best demonstrated by vendors like Lavu, Vend, Shopkeep and Kounta. Shopkeep have a great blog post here, about the inspiration behind their thinking.

So what are modern business terms?

Try-before-you-buy

Try-before-you-buy allows customers to test out products for free at their business before deciding whether they want to pay for them. This allows to you exercise the features of the product and for you gain a real insight into its true value.

Subscription licensing

The idea of subscription licensing is appealing. Rather than paying a steep upfront fee for a ‘perpetual’ license – the traditional licensing model that enterprise software grew up around – companies can simply rent the software. In many cases, the subscription payments are treated as an Operating expense (OPEX) rather than a Capital expense (CAPEX). It requires less up-front cost than the perpetual license, as the subscription fees spread payment out across the term of the agreement.

In many cases vendors allow monthly billing with no on-going obligation using a pure usage based license count. A pay for what you use model.

Hardware

Modern solutions are open to a wide range of hardware devices and avoid the ‘lock-in‘ of old style proprietary solutions. By support a range of devices, the customer can either use existing hardware or purchase hardware that best meets his need.

Why Silverstar Analytics?

Our solution is provided only using modern licensing terms. This includes

• Free trial period giving full access to the solution.
• Subscription based licensing based on actual usage.
• Monthly based billing available.
• No long running contract or obligation.
• No hardware lock-in.

Read more at our web-site.