New Software Vendors - Risks and Benefits

Looking at a new software vendor, a vendor with a small but growing customer base?

At Kensai International, Ltd. we tend to prefer established vendors with a customer base of 100 or more publishers, that said solutions from new vendors usually offer unique advantages over that of more established vendors.

These advantages include;

a. Features not offered by their larger competitors.

Example, iPub ( http://www.ipubtech.com/ ) and HiPoint ( http://www.hisoftwareinc.com/ )solutions offer integrated EDI processing, a feature for which some competitors charge $15 to $25K.

b. Newer Technology

New vendors are more likely to have software built using the latest software development tools.

c. Lower Pricing

With newer solutions that have a small customer base there is a risk that they will be here today and gone tomorrow.

To evaluate this risk we recommend that a publisher consider three factors;

1. Is their customer base growing?
2. Can they cover their operating expenses?
3. Do they have "glowing" references?