The Cost And Licensing Of Embedded Analytics Software

With introductions out of the way, it’s time to dive into our embedded analytics buyer’s guide. This chapter will break down how embedded analytics software is licensed and how much, on average, it will cost to purchase a license.

The Cost and Licensing of Embedded Analytics Software

Definitions

In this chapter, it might help to brush up on the following definitions:

Vendor – A company or brand that sells Software or other forms of technology, especially Software as a Service.
Demo – An opportunity to try a software product, usually with limited functionality and time, to give a potential customer a feel for how the product works.
SaaS – Software as a Service. A method of selling Software via monthly subscription, rather than a flat fee.

Here’s What You Need To Know

Don’t Waste Your Time on Expensive Products

Many big-name vendors sell embedded analytics software or include such software in their existing bundles or all-in-one solutions. However, many vendors don’t want to give you an upfront cost because their products are very expensive. The goal of these big-name vendors is to impress you with their tech features and content, then leave you trying to justify how incredibly expensive their product is. Some vendors may use high-pressure sales pitches to impress you without offering a demo.

Never, ever opt for an embedded analytics software solution without trying out a trial first.

If a vendor does not offer a demo, that’s a huge red flag.

In general, we recommend getting in touch with your prospective vendor and directly asking for the product cost before even considering working with them. A good vendor will have prices listed on their website. Just as well, ensure that the cost of the product is going to fit your budget from the get-go. There’s no point in wasting your time listening to a sales pitch or experimenting with a demo if you know the product is too expensive for your use case.

Understand Licensing and Your Starting/Future Costs

Embedded analytics can be considered “sticky.” This means that once integrated; they become a core aspect of your overall system. Unfortunately, vendors are well aware of this and will use it to their advantage in their price models.

Vendors might try to get you hooked with a surprisingly low price. However, as your company scales, the price of the product scales as well. This can be a huge issue with SaaS, and it can be not easy to switch to another solution once integrated.

A vendor may also try to hook you with an affordable base package, but each feature you need might be an add-on that will cost additional money. Similarly, vendors may also charge you an additional professional services fee whenever you need technical support after integration.

To avoid these potential pitfalls, understand your absolute maximum budget monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. Do the math before signing a contract. Also, consider how likely your company will scale within the next one to five years and how difficult it might be to switch to a different product.

Cost Elements to Consider

The key to choosing an affordable vendor comes down to understanding their pricing model and components. When evaluating prospects, ask yourself these questions:

• What are features available per user?
• What is the cost to use necessary features like security, data storage, user roles, etc.?
• What is the cost to install or use the vendor’s servers? Are there developer/testing fees?
• Will the product increase in cost as the company scales?
• Are there additional fees for branding removal?
• Are there yearly recurring fees?
• Is it difficult to opt-out of the subscription?
• What are the costs for implementation, training, and support?

Conclusion

Understand your budget from the get-go, don’t invest time and energy into vendors that don’t offer demos or trials, and do the math when it comes to long-term costs. Get all the facts about your prospective vendor and product up-front to avoid wasting your time dealing with high-pressure sales pitches and other time-consuming (and wasting) processes.

In the next chapter, you will learn whether your architect or tech stack and the embedded analytics you have are a match made in heaven and what we can do about it.