SaaS or Packaged Product - Packaged Product

Delivered products are not going to go out of fashion. Compute intensive applications, like computer games, graphics applications, music & video applications, personal information management, etc are still delivered, installed and used on desktop PCs. In addition, enterprise applications are also delivered, installed and deployed at many in-house data-centers. These software run anywhere from single digit to several thousands of dollars.

Here are few things that can make or break a packaged product –

• Testing and validation (and I say, testing, testing and more testing),
• Ease of delivery: boxed CD, over the web download, or custom installed,
• Adequacy of documentation and help,
• Integrated training and continuous learning program.

Flickr Picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dburr/540719568/

Testing and validation – there is nothing more embarrassing than an installation failure or post-install crash. I cannot stress the importance of testing and validation. While it is good to have a large QC team with automated testing methodologies and procedures, a simple but no-short-circuit-test process will suffice.

Ease of delivery – choose your medium wisely. Although your management would want all of the above (and may be you do need all of the above), in most situations, one or two will suffice. There may be shipping requirements from accounting that may have nothing do with actual product being delivered. So be prepared.

Adequacy of documentation and training – A good training program ensures repeat buyers. So make your training interesting and keep the customer delighted. Don’t spend too much on printed documentation. But create enough online context-sensitive help to ensure your user does not get struck. A struck user always blames the product.

Ram.