ISV Strategy

Our Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Strategy Practice includes a team of senior executives with over 19 years of proven success within application software industry. Our consultants have a demonstrated ability to manage entrepreneurial start-ups as well as the marketing, sales and development business units in expanding companies resulting in commercially successful products. If you are a start up company that needs assistance on an interim basis or an established ISV looking for an outside perspective, we are able to assist you in the following areas:

• Strategic Planning
• Product Marketing
• Product Management
• Direct Sales Channel Operations
• Strategic Alliance and Reseller Programs
• Implementation Partner Programs
  
  

Strategic Planning 
We have experience managing the various stages of company growth including start up, early stage, pre-IPO and public. Below are several areas where our expertise can assist you:

• Design and Implement Formal Strategic Planning Process
  
• Implement a Scaleable Organizational Structure to Support Rapid Growth
  
• Develop Distribution Strategy including Direct and/or Indirect Channels
  
• Implement Management Reporting System and Financial Controls
  
• Evaluate Potential Acquisition Opportunities
  
• Manage the Effective Integration of Acquisitions
  

...................................................... ............................
Product Marketing  
Effective product marketing requires a strong understanding of the market, target customer and competition. It also requires a rare combination of sales, marketing and technology skills that can be difficult to recruit and retain. We can fill the Product Marketing role for you on an interim basis and assist you in the following areas:

• Market Analysis to Identify Competitors and Document Competitive Gaps
  
• Competitive Application and Technology Positioning
  
• Create White Papers
  
• Create Independent ROI Studies with ISV Customers
  
• Participate in Creation of Marketing Collateral
  
• Develop Demonstration Systems and Train Sales Force
  
• Develop Strategies to Penetrate Vertical Markets
  
• Develop and Implement Webinar & Workshop Programs
  
• Assist ISV in Recruiting Complementary Partners
  
• Assist ISV in Recruiting Product Marketing Staff
  

..................................................... .............................
Product Management  
Determining what new products and enhancements to develop requires balanced input from sales, marketing, research and development, support and your customers. Since no ISV has unlimited development resources, it is critical to implement a Product Management process to prioritize future enhancements and manage the release cycle. Effective Product Management ensures that the right products and enhancements are delivered on schedule resulting in satisfied customers and investors. We have experience managing a staff of over 100 developers supporting multiple products. In addition, we have successfully delivered commercial applications leveraging emerging technologies including Web applications developed in Java as well as object-oriented client/server applications. Below are several areas where our expertise can assist you:

• Design and Implement Formal Product Planning Process
  
• Assist ISV in Prioritizing Enhancement
  
• Implement a Formal Process to Communicate Development Status
  
• Review and Revise Software Development Process
  
• Create or Revise a Standard Application Specification
  
• Provide HR Domain Expertise to Complete Specifications
  
• Design Standard QA Testing Process
  
• Provide HR Domain Expertise to Execute Test Plans
  
• Design or Enhance Discrepancy Tracking System
  
• Assist in Training Sales Organization or Reseller Channel
  
• Assist ISV in Recruiting Expertise to Fill Key Positions
  

............................................................ ......................
Direct Sales Channel Operations  
Our ISV consulting team includes experienced sales managers, who have consistently exceeded quota, selling both software and consulting services. We have managed multi-million dollar sales organizations and understand how to effectively sell emerging technology solutions. Below are several areas where our expertise can assist you:

• Forecast Revenue Potential, Develop Sales Territories and Sales Quotas
  
• Define Roles and Responsibilities of Sales Managers, Account Executives and Pre-sales Consultants
  
• Develop Compensation Plans
  
• Design and Implement Sales Forecasting and Reporting System
  
• Design and Implement Formal Sales Training Program
  
• Train Sales Force to Effectively Sell Emerging Technology Solutions
  

............................................................ ......................
Strategic Alliance and Reseller Programs 
Our ISV consulting team has experience both as a reseller of software applications and successfully managing business alliances from the ISV perspective. We can provide you with assistance on an interim basis to help you define a formal strategic alliance and reseller program. In order to effectively support strategic alliance partners and resellers, the ISV must invest in an infrastructure to train and support the partners. Below are several areas where our expertise can assist you:

• Define Roles and Responsibilities of ISV and Resellers
  
• Develop Job Descriptions for Channel Account Managers
  
• Define Reseller Policies i.e. Lead Registration, Acceptable Discounts, Payments, Channel Conflict Resolution, Periodic Reporting etc.
  
• Create a Partner Extranet to help set proper expectations and communicate with alliance partners
  
• Review and Recommend Revisions to Alliance Partner Agreements
  
• Assist in Development of Marketing Collateral, Demo Systems and Training Programs
  
• Recruit Channel Account Managers
  
• Overview of International Reseller Issues
  
• Create Alliances with Resellers
  

............................................................. .....................
Implementation Partner Programs  
Our management team has experience implementing both back office enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications and emerging self-service applications. We can provide you with assistance to help you define and implement a formal implementation partner program.
Based upon our past experience, it is important to invest in the creation of a Web-based Implementation Partner Handbook to help set the proper expectations and manage implementation partners. In order to effectively support third-party implementation partners, the ISV must invest in an infrastructure to train and support its partners. Below are several areas where our expertise can assist you:

• Define Roles and Responsibilities of ISV and Implementation Partners
  
• Enhance Standard Implementation Methodology and Project Management Process
  
• Design or Enhance Standard Processes for Requirements Definition, Gap Analysis and Technical Specifications
  
• Review and Recommend Revisions to Standard Implementation Partner Agreements
  
• Assist in Development of a Formal Partner Training Program
  
• Design Extranet to Communicate with Partners
  
• Overview of International Implementation Partner Issues
  
• Assist Engineering Group in Defining Configurable Software Architecture to Leverage Partners