4-page Partner Case Study - Posted 4/15/2008
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Solution Provider Enters Large SMB Market With Help from ISV Royalty Program
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| Bluespring Software |
Situation
A key feature of information technology is its ability to automate manual processes so companies can save time, cut costs, and increase efficiencies. Setting up new employees with medical or pension plans, filing for travel reimbursements, adjudicating insurance claims, ordering computer equipment for new offices—these and many other time-consuming processes, whether internal or customer-facing, can be streamlined with the right technology solution.
Bluespring Software, an independent software vendor (ISV) and Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner based in Cincinnati, Ohio, has spent years building a successful company by providing organizations with business process management (BPM) solutions. Launched in 1998 with a focus on helping telecommunications companies design projects for enterprise companies, Bluespring eventually broadened its offerings to help companies in a wide range of industries reduce or eliminate manual tasks that can consume time and resources.
But a large and important market remained out of reach: The thousands of small and medium-sized businesses that can benefit from business process management solutions, but don’t have the resources to handle the cost or complexity of implementing enterprise-level software.
“Our goal is to give companies much better visibility into and control over their mission-critical processes,” says Jeffrey Mills, General Manager and Vice President of Marketing for Bluespring. “We’ve had a lot of success with many large enterprises. For example, Cincinnati Bell was a flagship customer. We streamlined the acquisition process they go through with enterprise customers, reducing a highly manual process that used to take 12 days and about 700 steps to two days and just a few steps. It saves them a lot of time and money, and helps them be more responsive to customer requests.”
The same kind of solution can be incredibly valuable for companies of any size, but more often than not, small and medium size companies—or large companies with small IT departments—don’t have the resources to manage an enterprise-scale implementation.
“We needed to create a business process management solution that would be cost-effective and easy-to-manage for smaller organizations--and profitable for Bluespring,” Mills says. “Finding a way to provide this technology efficient and affordable could open up a huge market for us.”
Solution
Bluespring entered this huge new market with a new product it developed after joining the Microsoft ISV Royalty Licensing Program, which provides ISVs with a convenient way to integrate Microsoft-licensed products into their software business applications, replicate the business solution, and then distribute a fully licensed solution to their customers.
Under the Royalty Program, Bluespring created its BPM Suite—SharePoint Edition. It was developed for smaller organizations looking to drive more business process value out of their deployments of Microsoft SharePoint® Products and Technologies, which provide intranet, extranet, and Web applications within a single integrated platform.
The solution also incorporates other Microsoft products, including the Microsoft Office suites and Microsoft SQL Server®. The BPM Suite—SharePoint Edition is optimized for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS), but also supports prior versions of SharePoint technology.
The BPM Suite—SharePoint Edition, which is available as a downloadable product from the Bluespring Web site, comes pre-packaged with field-tested BPMS/workflow technology. It also includes both the technology and a limited number of licenses for SharePoint Server 2007, SharePoint Designer 2007, Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition, and Microsoft InfoPath® 2007.
All of the Microsoft products used in the BPM Suite—SharePoint Edition are covered under the Royalty Program, which provided Bluespring with significant discounts on the software as well as the Microsoft licenses that Bluespring customers need for a complete solution.
Benefits
Bluespring and its customers benefit in a number of ways from the Microsoft ISV Royalty Program. Participation in the Royalty Program was easy for Bluespring and made it an important component of the Bluespring growth strategy. The company was able to create value for its customers by incorporating both the technology and the licenses for the Microsoft products as part of the BPM Suite—SharePoint Edition.
By providing many enterprise-level features in an affordable package, Bluespring was able to innovate in a way that has opened up a large market and paved the way for increased profits.
Easy to Participate in Program
When Bluespring executives evaluated the potential benefits of the Royalty Program and the requirements for participation, they recognized the long-term value that the program could deliver to their company.
“We considered bundling SharePoint technologies with our technology for smaller organizations, but smaller companies are always put off either by the price or by the potential complexity of dealing with multiple licenses and vendors,” says Mills. “The Royalty Program is what made this solution possible.”
Mills says it is a simple process to sign up and comply with program requirements, and that it provides a rapid return on investment in any time spent by an ISV.
“The ISV Royalty Program registration and reporting routines are straightforward, and the program really streamlined the purchase and licensing of Microsoft software. The Royalty Program allowed us to easily bundle the necessary SharePoint, Office, and SQL Server products along with our technology to deliver a cost-effective, unified solution to our customers,” he says.
Creates Value for Customers
Bluespring customers benefit from the BPM Suite—SharePoint Edition with a single, end-to-end solution.
“The decision to participate in the Microsoft ISV Royalty Program was a key go-to-market strategy for entering a market that was tough to crack,” says Mills. “We’ve been successful because it helped us deliver a solution that brings a lot of value to the customers.”
With the Royalty Program pricing, Bluespring customers get the Microsoft products at a 20 percent discount over what they would pay if they purchased the product apart from the BPM Suite—SharePoint Edition solution. If they need a slightly different solution set for a specific business need, it is easy for Bluespring to add different Microsoft products to the solution.
“Plus they can obtain our solution without worrying about excessive cost, licenses, complex installation and management issues, or working with different technology vendors,” Mills says. He adds that as part of the package, Bluespring provides all support for customers on every component of the solution, including the Microsoft products.
“The last thing smaller organizations need is a hodgepodge of vendors and tech support when they need help,” Mills says. “With this solution, we provide the customer with a single point of contact on support issues, which makes it an even more compelling purchase.”
Opens New Market for ISV
For Bluespring, the biggest benefit of the Royalty Program is that it opened a new—and large—market for the company.
“In the past, we could not get the price point down to where it made sense for smaller customers,” says Mills. “After creating our new solution, we really understand how the program has helped us enter an entirely new market. Within a few months after joining the Microsoft ISV Royalty Program, we closed five deals and more are on the way. We couldn’t have done this without the advantages of the Royalty Program.”
Along with signing new customers that were difficult or impossible to obtain in the past, Bluespring is in a position of offering additional products and solutions to the new customer base.
“The Royalty Programs allows us to deliver not just a unified solution, but also a unified experience for the customer. The BPM Suite—SharePoint Edition proves that we can deliver a one-stop shop. That encourages new customers to take a look at other products and solutions that we offer.
“When we first joined the Royalty Program, we were a bit uncertain about what kind of impact it would have on our business. Those doubts are gone. The Microsoft ISV Royalty Program allowed us to enter and be very competitive in a market that we weren’t in before. We are now certain that it is strategic to our business, and will be critical to helping us increase our presence in the small- and medium-sized business market.”
Microsoft Partner Program
The Microsoft Partner Program is all about your success. The program is committed to helping you better connect with your customers through use of innovative tools, information, and services. Every day partners around the world are moving their businesses forward, increasing their market reach, improving their customers’ satisfaction, and reducing their cost of doing business. You create the path to your business growth through achievements like gaining a new skill, hosting your first product training event, landing an elusive client, or building a long-needed business collaboration. This is how your business moves, every day, in the direction that you desire.
For more information about the Microsoft Partner Program, please visit the Web site:
www.microsoft.com/partner
