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Pricing Guide - Data visualization Software:
Business Intelligence Tools Price Range
For business intelligence software, the price sits around $3,000 per year for a user. However, it is worth noting that this price range is associated with the medium offering or package from each software vendor; in essence, it is suitable for small & medium-sized businesses. More robust offerings have volatile pricings that are adjusted to suit large businesses.
Users are expected to pay between $10 to $75 for a single user account, depending on the offering level. Examples are Prisync pricing is priced at $60 per month, ClearView InFocus, which costs $25 monthly, and SEMRush pricing sit around $100 monthly. However, SAP Business Objects costs $14,000 per year but includes 10 user accounts.
Additionally, business intelligence software can be targeted at SMBs or large-sized businesses. However, there are others that are meant for any business size. The software that is apt for each business size and their prices are as follows:
- Small Businesses can expect to pay between $10–$50 monthly for a single account business intelligence software. For BI software that includes multiple accounts, they can expect to pay between $300–$500 per month. However, some other vendors like Britix24, Manage Engine Analytics Plus, and BI360 offer their low-end package free for small businesses, although with limited features. Some BI software for small businesses are Competitors App, which costs around $7 per month, KlipFolio $50 monthly, and AnswerDock $20 per month.
- Medium Businesses can expect to pay between $50–$500 for a business intelligence software, depending on the number of accounts on each offering. For instance, Tableau pricing costs $70 for a single account, while Funnel and CYS cost around $500 and $300 respectively for pre-set multiple accounts.
- Large Businesses can expect to pay $500–$10,000 for BI software packages that include a large workforce and around $60 for a single account. For instance, Prisync ultimate package costs around $300 monthly per user but allows only a minimum of 10 accounts, which amount to $3,000. Also, ArcGIS costs $1,500, and IBI is priced around $150 per month.
The price range for BI best of breed are as follows:
- Reporting Software
This subcategory of BI software has a price that ranges from $10 and $45, depending on the offering level. For example, Agent360 Marketing Reporting pricing starts from $80 per month for 5 users, Syncfusion Bold Reports costs $200 per month for 5 users, Germain APM cost up to $30 per day based on APM unit.
- Data Visualization Software
The price for software in this category ranges from $10 to $50 per user monthly. On the other hand, some others are completely free to use. Google Charts, for example, comes at no fee. However, software like Qlik Sense costs $15 per month per user, while Power BI costs more than $10 monthly per user.
- Dashboard Software
Dashboard software pricing is usually divided into three tiers, which range from $9 to $12, $12 to $27, and above $30, respectively; the price is usually set based on the number of dashboards made available in a month. Some dashboard software with this similar price are Cluvio, which costs $280 for 50 dashboards monthly, Microsoft Dynamics 365, which costs $190 monthly per user for a number of dashboards. Others are iClassPro = $130 and ThortSpace = around $10 monthly per user.
- Risk Management Software
Many products in this category are priced on a yearly basis, which, in many cases, may be per user. They can also be divided into three categories, of which the lowest offering range from $70 to $400, medium offering from $400 to $10,000, and the ultimate package from $10,000 upwards.
Some products have monthly pricing regardless; for example, Goat Risk, which costs $15 per user, and OneSoft Connect, which costs around $6 per user. An example of a product with yearly pricing is Analytic Solver, which costs $250 per user. Lastly, some risk management software have one-time fees, like IsoMetrix, which costs $34,000 for a buyout.
- Embedded Analytics Software
The pricing for embedded analytics software is often divided into three tiers, usually to suit small businesses, medium businesses, and large businesses. The price ranges from $10 to $15, $15 to $325, and above $325 for each respective tire. Stratifyd is an embedded analytics software with yearly pricing of $1,000 per user. Others are GoodData, which costs $2,400 per year, INFRAGISTIC Reveal, which costs around $10 per user per month.
A Buyer's Guide to Business Software Solutions
How to Evaluate and Buy Business Software
If you’re somehow puzzled if this article is only for a specific size of business, no, it’s not. This is for you SMEs, MNEs and start-ups software buyers. Also, we’re not talking about a specific software solution here. Whether the software solution that you’re planning to buy is for Accounting, Business Intelligence, ERP, CRM, Help Desk, Maintenance Management or other types of application, one thing is for sure; with the help of this article, you will be able to know the right process in evaluating and buying a business software solution.
We’ve been into the software business for years and we’re seeing a lot of nitty-gritty things that often bring confusions and hesitations to many companies looking for better software solutions. Some companies can’t afford to let go their legacy systems while a few is encountering technological snags once the new system is in place. While this is the underlying truth behind software acquisition and implementation, what’s exciting about buying a business software solution is that there is a clear and obvious proof that thousands of companies and corporations today are happy with the benefits this technology is bringing into their respective businesses. There is a significant increase in their revenue and the growth is on-going. And it’s easy to say; many from the Fortune 500 companies are making a lot of money because of their smartly-acquired business software.
So, let’s get straight to the point. What should you do in order to acquire that business software that could make your organization achieve its goals? The answer to this is pretty straightforward: evaluate and buy that right business software. Yes, that’s what you need to do and here’s the best manual from ITQlick.com that could certainly help you in doing that strategically.
Consider the Needs of Your Organization
Let’s assume that at this point, the entire management team agreed that you are ready to invest on a certain software application. The budget has been compromised and the key persons who will be involved in the acquisition process were already identified. Therefore, it’s time to approach things the project management way.
Define the Project
Every business software solution is categorized base on application type, features, deployment model, market size and pricing model. Remember that our objective here is to evaluate and buy a business software product that will fit into the size and present needs of your business. So what the project management team should try to deal with first is to define the real requirements of your business exactly base on the categories set by the software industry. Moreover, by doing this activity, you are already narrowing down your search for the right solution. Now, consider bringing this list of FAQs to the project management and aim to come up with clear-cut answers.
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What type of software is needed? Is it Integrated-Suite, Best-of-Breed or Industry-Specific? Ask your CEO’s main agenda and find the perfect match from these available options.
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What are the core and secondary features? Are you looking for basic, advanced or hi-end features? List down the specific features per category and allow the department managers and supervisors to give their insights on this list.
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How are you going to deploy the system? Would it be on-premise, cloud-based, hosted, or mobile-based? Weigh these options with the help of your CIO.
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Are you going for Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 vendors? Their offered solutions are base on the size of their target market - SMEs, MNEs or start-ups. Seek your CFO’s advice as it is important to match your financial capacity against the cost of the solution that the providers have for you.
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Are you willing to pay for the perpetuity software license or a subscription-based solution is way better? How many users are there and what would be their roles in using the system? Solicit feedbacks from future end users for they know better what challenges and risks might possibly come along their way when they’re using the system.
Finalize the BOM or List of Requirements
After providing definite answers on the above questions, we can say that the project has already been defined. Your procurement team is now ready to do their role in the acquisition process of this solution. However, in order for them to execute their job properly, they must have the complete list of requirements - features, specifications, hardware, and the software product. In other words, the Bill-of-Materials (BOM) that is final, complete and well-prepared must be handed over to the procurement director. Needless to say, it is very important that everybody is following the company purchasing and procurement protocols at all times.
Request for Proposal (RFP)
The RFP process will bring everything into formality. Since you’re more likely in a line of business that doesn’t regularly buy software products, it is of critical importance that your RFP is well-structured before you send it to your prospect solution providers.
Draft the RFP
An RFP that contains all the relevant information as discussed during the project management meetings will enable the providers to return back to you their proposal that is complete and substantial. Therefore, your RFP should basically contain the following:
Brief Introduction
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Company Name
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Mission and Goals
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Purpose of the RFP (or the need for software solution)
Business Background
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Organizational Structure
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Current Situation (IT infrastructure, system currently in-use, system issues and desired solutions, etc.)
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Major Objectives of the Software Purchase
Request for Specific Requirements
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Solution Functionality
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System Specifications
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Vendor Company Information
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Price Model, Service Plans, Package Options
Other Important Inquiries (if necessary)
Send the RFP
Well-structured RFP will bring a lot of advantages especially when the proposals from various providers are received and then subjected for review and analysis. Send your RFP to at least three to five providers (or prospects which you have already shortlisted during the project definition phase). Depending on the complexity of the solution, most vendors will send their proposal in a matter of time, which could be around 4 to 6 weeks for Integrated-Suite solution.
Why still send RFP?
Is there really a need for RFP if your preferred solution (like cloud-based) and the service plans or packages are already displayed on the vendor’s website? Well, yes, you still need to undergo the RFP process. For most sales people, they certainly know that those figures appearing in the vendor’s website are usually the “list price” and not the “actual price”. More importantly, the vendor’s proposal (response to RFP) will serve as your main basis for the negotiation. Therefore, sending an RFP is a strict requirement.
Follow up questions relevant to RFP
More often than not, questions and concerns will be raised by the vendors to whom you send the RFP. You have to entertain them with utmost professionalism. Solution providers who are seeking further clarifications relevant to the RFP are consisting of professional software experts who wants to help your organization as much as they can. Entertain them but at the same time, always be cautious when providing additional information which you know is confidential or proprietary.
Evaluate the Proposals
Always refer to your finalized BOM when tabulating the contents of each proposal. Part of this process is to check the features that are available from this certain vendor and to cross out those that are not. While using spreadsheet aids the tabulation process, laying down the document proposals on the table and allowing your project management team to review them one by one should always be conducted. Evaluating the proposals in full force can help strengthen your decision-making process. Have another round of brain-storming session and come with the name of your preferred solution provider.
When selecting the final vendor, always promote the best interest of your organization. Consider answering these questions with full sincerity.
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Which vendor can provide the long-term benefits to your organization?
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Which vendor can provide the best and honest service from acquisition to full implementation?
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Which vendor is willing to devote most of its time in better serving its client?
Contact this solution provider and in your own strategic approach, try to get the answers to those three important questions above. In most cases, vendor who really wants to prove its craft will offer product demos on a higher level. Others will even invite you to check their already deployed and working systems. Feel free to connect with this type of vendor. Conduct simulation and testing, be it a cloud-based or on-premise solution. Examine all aspects and angles especially those that your project management team want to really know in-depth. For as long as it could help you arrive at a better decision, consider doing all the options available – for the interest of the organization.
Enter the Negotiation Process
Most solutions providers can be flexible in terms of pricing. Although the final say is oftentimes on the mouth of the sales person from the vendor’s side, a good negotiation process can always deliver a win-win situation to both parties involve. While negotiation sometimes cannot be settled in one sitting session, always be honest with your intentions whenever negotiating with your provider. If it’s about your budget, justify it with clarity. If it’s about their service plans, tell them what’s lacking or missing on their solution. At the end of the day, the most important event that should happen is that both of you are shaking hands because of a well done negotiation process.
Seal the Contract
So what are you going to do on a contract that involves a significant amount of investment? There are three project management approaches for this.
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Pass the ball to you legal team. They know what to do and more or less they will tell you if there is something wrong with the contract. Give them enough time to review before they affix their signature and then finally seal the contract.
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Hire a consultant base on the technical aspect that you want to clarify in the contract. If it’s the Scope of Work (SOW), a software implementation expert is the right person. If it is related to complex legal terms and conditions, a lawyer can help. If it has something to do with money, invite an accountant to conduct a thorough review and computation if necessary.
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Always consider consulting your project management team. Remember that the CIO, CFO and CEO are all team members. They will be the signatories and they know what’s best for the interest of the company when signing a contract agreement.
From evaluation to buying stage, it is important that the project manager must take full responsibility of monitoring all the works identified and distributed among team members. This is why delegating the right project manager is also an important consideration when buying a business software solution. And again, ITQlick.com wants to emphasize that whatever the size of your company is, using the project management approach will always lead you into a better outcome – that is getting what you paid for the right business software solution.
Finding the right business software for your business
Proper business software selections are the precursor to successful deployment and business growth. Finding the right solutions doesnít have to be complicated, and it doesnít have to take days or weeks of your time.
After researching over 5,000 systems, we can identify the best solution for companies of all shapes and sizes. ITQlick.com is 100% free for software buyers.
Shlomi Lavi / May 09, 2023