Craft Your Negotiations Strategy To Reflect New Packaged Apps Licensing And Pricing Trends

Results from Forrester's Enterprise And SMB Software Survey, North America And Europe, Q4 2008 reveal three major trends shaping contract negotiations strategy: 1) declines in software spending; 2) improved negotiating leverage for buyers; and 3) vendor willingness to accommodate clients' requests. Our analysis of packaged apps vendors in enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management, supply chain management, and project-based solutions confirms that most savvy vendors are shifting policies to reflect end users' expectations of greater choice, value, and predictability. Forrester recommends that negotiation strategies focus on business drivers, alignment with solution adoption, usage along the software ownership life cycle, and adoption of Forrester's enterprise software licensee's bill of rights.