Posts filed under ‘SaaS’
Who are the Big 3 in the War in the cloud?
A quick primer to the main providers of CRM in the cloud and currently battling it out:
1. Microsoft Dynamics CRM
“If you are an Outlook shop, Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a no brainer. The application’s core offering is your standard fare CRM feature set, but it is adding social media functionality as fast as it can.“
2. Oracle Public Cloud
“brings its formidable database and business application bona fides — of which CRM is just one part — to the cloud.“
3. Salesforce.com
Just need someone to solve that issue of integrating external ticketing software/service transactions for those stuck in venues with exclsuive ticketing contracts …
17 November, 2011 at 12:04 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Is it Ticketing Going Viral or are Ticket Company Startups Going Viral?
Another day, another article about a new ticketing option. This is great for innovation, but is it sustainable?
One such new entrant is Amiando with the aim “to harness the cost benefits and reach of the internet, as well as social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter, to offer event organisers on demand invitation management, promotion and attendee registration, as well as integrated billing.“
Ticket sales attract a charge of $0.99 (£0.79) per attendee plus 5.9% of the attendance fee. So on a US$30 ticket that is US$0.99 plus US$1.77 = US$2.76 or 9.2% on a $10 ticket it grows to 15.8% of ticket price. While it compares well for higher priced tickets, it is a pricey option for lower priced tickets like children’s events etc.
However, price may not be the issue … for long. The article then discusses other numerous similar online options like: Etouches, TicketBiscuit and Fatsoma. These are just a few of the options in this rapidly growing area and the common trend in a market as more entrants are attacted is the shift to price competition, with the eventual result of commodity pricing when there is little differentiation left amongst competitors as they compete for market share. It is early days but the accelerated product lifecycle of such Internet offerings makes one wonder how long till these companies are cannibalising each other’s market share? Afterall, a SaaS solution based in the UK available on the Internet can compete just as easily as a service in Australia or Singapore. The barriers of payment gateways and the like are less and less of an issue, particularly with global solutions like PayPal.
The article then discusses the dominant agency model and opportunity that these new players may present.
Neil Saunders, senior analyst with Verdict Research suggests that in comparison to the newer leaner distribution options, ”companies like Ticketmaster don’t really add a significant amount of value.“
However, this ignores one important issue, whether traditional ‘middlemen’ add value or not, when it comes to venues – the agencies like Ticketmaster have venue exclusive ticketing contracts that preclude competition.
Until venue exclusive ticketing contracts or similar handicaps to competition are discouraged, agencies like Ticketmaster will preclude these numerous new ticketing options from moving beyond small venues and events.
With the recent launch of Foxtix in Australia, going head to head with both the current dominant agencies: Ticketmaster and Ticketek, one has to wonder how much money Rupert Murdoch is prepared to throw into the bidding war to assert control with exclusive ticketing contracts. I suspect the result will be a leap in the quantum of ‘key money’, and unfortunately reducing the options for a change in these contracts that maintain the current duopoly. But is there room for three agencies in Australia? Time will tell.
1 November, 2010 at 10:10 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia 2 comments
Building “Real World” Relationships Online
Convio fundraising software has also gone down the path of using Sales Force to add on CRM functionality to their existing offering with the new module Common Ground™.
Like Patron Technology with their new offering Patron Manager, Convio has partnered with Sales Force using its non-profit template, rather than “actually building something from scratch.“
Building “Real World” Relationships Online
5 October, 2010 at 1:30 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia 1 comment
The World of Ticketing Options
Helping Nonprofits Make Smart Software Decisions
Laura Quinn of idealware has made a start at an overview of system options for ticketing.
The categorisation of system options is interesting:
- General Admissions Ticketing
- Stand-Alone Solutions for Reserved Seats
- Integrated Constituent Tracking and Ticketing Solutions
- Solutions Specializing in Commercial Venues
A few of the comments made for interesting reading and warrant further exploration for anyone considering a new solution:
- EventBrite or BrownPaperTickets both integrate with Salesforce.
- Patron Technologies has just launched PatronManager “which is built on top of the Salesforce platform to include reserved seating ticketing and box-office functionality. It’s an interesting option especially for small to medium sized organizations who have a number of constituents to track in addition to their patrons.“
- “Blackbaud’s The Patron Edge also provides box office functionality, with some ability to integrate into The Raisers Edge.” It seems rather shortsighted that The Patron Edge only supports some integration with The Raisers Edge with the naming as part of a suite suggesting full integration. The Patron Edge is just a rebadged third party product TopTix from Israel. Not dissing TopTix, but The Patron Edge is still only version 3 of this software.
- Tessitura, the “Cadillac of the arts management world.” That has unfortunate connotations in Australia
”It’s a complex system that’s much more appropriate for organizations with multi-million dollar budgets than for small ones — it requires considerable customization, training, and staff time to use.“
Some issues that have not been addressed are Social Media integration and Mobile Web interfaces, but this article is just making a start.
READ FULL ARTICLE ONLINE HERE>>
8 August, 2010 at 12:38 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia 2 comments
How to choose CRM software?
“Every business already has a CRM system—though the owners may not realize it, or think of it as such, … It could be pen-and-paper-based, or it could be data locked in a spreadsheet or some e-mail folders. Either way, businesses are already tracking customers in some way.“
Some interesting opinions in this piece that smacks a little of advertorial. It also has some short reviews of some affordable CRM solutions.
READ FULL ARTCILE ONLINE HERE>>
6 August, 2010 at 3:53 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
What is cloud computing?
Crikey asks “is it really “a radical new business model that purports to slash technology costs by up to 80%”?
A good primer on cloud computing that answers questions such as:
- What is cloud computing and why is it called that?
- Can it really cut IT costs by 80%?
- Is there a downside and is it secure?
“It’s not water vapour. All it is is a computer attached to a network. What are you talking about? I mean, what do you think Google runs on? … Water vapour?” Larry Ellison, CEO and co-founder of Oracle Corporation at techpulse360
14 July, 2010 at 10:10 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
