Software Assurance Explained

Tue Nov 17 12:57:24 EST 2009

Thanks for the detailed email Bill.

Maybe you'll be addressing the web site issues that others have talked  
about in another email, but I'll send this anyway.

I also found the RunRev website a bit more complicated than it might  
need to be, but I also find tying my shoes a bit complex.

There's a great book named "Don't Make me Think" in which the author  
suggests having a few people sit down and use your software or web  
site. You sit there and watch/listen as they attempt to find things.  
Quite a revealing experience. Then you streamline things a bit, fix 'em.

Clear, direct, few steps (one is ideal) routes to plunking down a  
credit card means more revenue. That is a good thing, especially for  
us who also use Rev to make a living.

Maybe you already do such testing with the web site... maybe not.

sims

On Nov 17, 2009, at 6:46 PM, William Marriott wrote:

> RunRev does have a unique policy of updates and upgrades compared  
> to, say, Adobe. Instead of paying on a per-version basis, one gets  
> essentially annual subscriptions to new versions, after the three- 
> month window you get with new purchases expires.
>
> The reasoning behind this is to even out our revenue over the year,  
> to put more of a focus on giving attention to what is truly needed  
> by users (as opposed to coming out with versions "synthetically" on  
> our own financial timetable), to make it easier for customers to get  
> the latest versions right away (instead of having to make multiple  
> purchase decisions frequently), to ensure products built with Rev  
> are always of the highest available quality (so our customer's  
> customers are happy), and to eliminate destructive debates over what  
> should constitute a free "update" versus what warrants a for-fee  
> "upgrade."
>
> I think it's actually a pretty amazing value for the money. If you  
> bought Rev 2.9 on Sept 1, 2008 and a software assurance pack on Dec  
> 1, 2008, you would have received Rev 3.0, 3.5, *and* 4.0 as part of  
> that. Three major new versions for "a single low payment!" Sorry to  
> sound like a TV pitchman, but isn't that truly remarkable?
>
> Under traditional software upgrade models we could probably have  
> charged four or five times as much for you to keep current over that  
> time period. Compare us with, say, FileMaker Inc., which is earning  
> a reputation for gouging customers with ho-hum upgrades priced quite  
> close to the new-copy retail. Compare us with the percentage of  
> retail you pay to upgrade your Adobe software.
>
> We call it software assurance because you are assured that your  
> software will always be up-to-date. That's something we think  
> professional developers value. With the addition of the new  
> automatic updates functionality for all editions, that is becoming  
> even more of a reality.
>
> For revEnterprise users, it also means access to pre-release builds  
> and admission to our exclusive "Improve" list (a forum that perhaps  
> needs to be renamed at some point, as we are now better at acting  
> upon input for improvement from all corners).
>
> [The term "software assurance" isn't as non-standard as you would  
> think, by the way. Microsoft calls their similar program exactly  
> that.]
>
> Although new purchasers are entitled to three months of updates and  
> upgrades free (so you can be sure you'll get bug fixes, etc.), they  
> also have a full year of eligibility for the "Early" assurance pack  
> price. After that, the cost for an assurance pack essentially doubles.
>
> The exception we made for select customers with the offer below is a  
> very short-term incentive to encourage people who mostly have been  
> stuck in the 2.9 or even 2.6.1 era to try out the new, much-more- 
> usable and much-more-capable Rev 4.0. (It's time to come back to the  
> fold!)
>
> Quite honestly, the behavior we want to encourage is for customers  
> to purchase Rev, then make the annual assurance plan purchase more  
> or less automatic. I suppose a downside is that there are some  
> people who are always going to "kick the tires" before they spend  
> any more than they have to, but having an assurance plan not only  
> works out best for you in the long run, but is the best way to  
> support RunRev's continuing efforts to deliver great software.
>
> - Bill
>
> p.s.: Think about it: $99/year and you could have gotten three  
> fantastic new versions ... and support a company that's working  
> really hard to not only earn a spot on your desktop, but also change  
> the way the world thinks about software.
>
>
>
> Richard Gaskin wrote:
>> Bill Marriott wrote:
>>> The Order Now button directs to to the "Early" software assurance  
>>> package page for your edition of Rev.
>> How many people looking for "upgrade" will think of "assurance"?
>> When I think of "assurance" I think of the Crimson Permanent  
>> Assurance Company. ;)
>> <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX61PUZ3xkI>
>> I had a client confused by this recently, and when I upgraded  
>> ("assured"?) my own license a couple weeks ago I experienced the  
>> same uncertainty.
>> People are accustomed to paying for software upgrades (point  
>> releases), with the occasional free update (point-point releases).   
>> Some specialty software is sold by subscription, in which a fee is  
>> required annually.
>> RunRev's pricing is a unique mix somewhere between the two, and  
>> while I assume there are good reasons for this unusual pricing  
>> structure and I wouldn't advocate changing it, if unique  
>> nomenclature is used it may be helpful to translate RunRev's terms  
>> into industry-common-speak.
>> Perhaps "Early Software Assurance Pack" could be renamed "Early  
>> Upgrade Assurance Pack" for clarity.
>> And FWIW, the front page of the Store section doesn't show upgrades  
>> at all; only when you click to buy what is marked as a full license  
>> do you find the "assurance" (upgrade) option.
>> If the pricing is working well for RunRev don't change it; the  
>> prices are quite reasonable once they're understood.
>> Just a little honing of the terminology and layout in the store  
>> would make it a bit easier for folks to give RunRev money.
>> -- 
>> Richard Gaskin
>> Fourth World
>> Rev training and consulting: http://www.fourthworld.com
>> Webzine for Rev developers: http://www.revjournal.com
>> revJournal blog: http://revjournal.com/blog.irv
>> _______________________________________________
>>