Tigerpaw is moving from a system of perpetual concurrent user licenses on a module by module basis to one low-priced SaaS option with everything included. While customers who have already invested in the licenses are not being forced to switch to SaaS, Tigerpaw will be offering them incents to do so.
James Foxall, Tigerpaw’s CEO
At their 2015 Tigerpaw Partner Conference in Omaha, Bellevue, Nebraska-based professional services automation (PSA) vendor Tigerpaw Software has launched a major reworking of its PSA offering. Previously they had gone to market with perpetual concurrent user licenses on a module-by-module basis. Now they are introducing a SaaS-based option which bundles all their core modules and the most popular add-ons into a low-priced “Tigerpaw One” offering, in what they believe will become the de facto standard offering for new sales.
“This is a complete repackaging of our product offering, which will make it much easier to customers to buy and get up, and is ideal for those who want to run their entire business on it,” said James Foxall, Tigerpaw’s CEO. “We believe it will be a disruptive announcement in the space.”
The separately licensed modules include Tigerpaw’s contact and sales management module, the service management module, inventory management module, and accounting/payment processing module. The popular add-on modules to enhance the PSA functionality include a mobile app, customer portal, employee portal, built-in Exchange integration, and an e-mail-to-ticket parser. The way Tigerpaw has been sold in the past, after the initial up-front payment of the perpetual concurrent user licenses, customers would pay an annual “Livebridge” fee to receive continual software updates, technical support, and access to certain functions.
Now, with the new Tigerpaw One offering, all of this functionality is being priced at $USD 89 per user per month, with a SaaS pricing model that also includes the updates, training, and product support previously charged separately under Livebridge.
“Whereas like our competitors, we have been selling our comprehensive product line a la carte, with Tigerpaw One, everything we develop and sell is all rolled in at one price to the user, so there is no more feeling nickel and dimed when getting additional functionality,” Foxall said. “One price, one product, one vendor and you get everything through a SaaS model where it’s all one monthly payment.”
Foxall said that the new pricing significantly lowers the cost for get into Tigerpaw because of both the discount through the bundling and the SaaS pricing.
“We really expect people to take to this,” he said. “Many people found us pricey or held back from rolling it out to their whole organization based on the cost. We expect people will really embrace the new model and philosophy.”
Foxall said that the Tigerpaw One will also completely change the dynamic of customer followup calls.
“Right now, the customer fears a call is an attempt to sell more modules,” he said. “This takes the element of upsell out of the relationship. This makes it ‘You are paying for this and we want you to use it fully.’”
Foxall said Tigerpaw’s existing client base with the perpetual concurrent licenses of individual modules and add-ons is not being forced to move at this time.
“Customers who have already made this investment will not be forced to switch,” he said. “We don’t want to scare them into being forced into a SaaS model, but we do want to make it attractive to them to do so.” Accordingly, they will receive an opportunity to convert over to the new Tigerpaw One SaaS pricing at a substantial discount.
“I do think it will be our core model for new sales, and this is what we will be offering to new clients,” Foxall said.
In his opening keynote at the partner conference, Foxall also announced a special premium for attendee companies at the event.
“All attendees will get the SaaS offering free for one year,” he said. “We have north of 450 people here, and are entirely sold out. This is the biggest event we have ever done.”
Foxall also said the event has a big focus on curriculum.
“A big theme of our event is converged, with sessions on how to add new lines of business, like security, point of sale and voice,” he said. “This is the only PSA show with all the RMM vendors there.” Tigerpaw One provides free access to Tigerpaw Academy, the company’s training program that includes customized curriculum for each employee, live instructor-led training and a huge library of on-demand training videos and guides.
