Another Affiliate Summit event went by and I’m happy to say that it was the most successful one so far for us – not only for the new connections we made, but also the number of folks to whom we got to introduce Avangate. A lot of people involved in the software business – merchants, affiliates and service providers – came to event making the 13+ hour flight there worth it … plus, of course, it’s Vegas :) Check out some nice pictures and videos on our dedicated Facebook page.

In terms of getting exposure, I hosted a roundtable discussion about selling software. We had a lot of fun – the table was full and we had a lot of interesting questions. I expected mostly affiliates wanting to explore the software niche, but was happily surprised to see that about half of the folks who came to the table were affiliate program managers looking on how to leverage affiliates to grow their business.

Getting to the title of this post, here are a few pointers that helped us get the best of this show – I recommend you keep these in mind when attending an industry event as big as ASW12 (5,000+ delegates):

1. Clearly set the objectives for attending the show. For example – we want to talk to X new affiliates, get in touch with our partners Y and Z at the show, learn more about this business, etc. You will have to measure them afterwards to decide if it was a good event or even if it’s worth for you to go there next time.
2. Start planning meetings as early as possible. Check your leads pool and see if they’re attending. Don’t forget to follow-up with the people you’re contacting at least once. Also monitor the event’s social media channels (Twitter, Facebook). We’ve also had success reaching out to leads attending by social media, so don’t underestimate this.
3. Get the attendees list early and scan for updates weekly. I like the fact that Affiliate Summit always makes the attending companies public on their website, which clearly helps you meet the right people for you. As for the early thing: it’s easier to go through a big list months before the event than rush this in a few days right before the event. Meet possible partners in the exhibit hall – this will be a time saver for both parties. For important leads, set up a time to meet them separately.
4. See what your competition is doing at the conference. Keep an eye on your competition for the show. They could be sponsoring the event or organizing a party. Or maybe they have a presentation or are involved in a panel discussion. Do drop by and say hello if you have the chance – after all, we’re only competition, not enemies ;)
5. Clients are your best asset. Set up meetings with them, even outside the event, if they’re based there. If there’s more from your company going to the show, you might want to organize a special event for your partners where they have the chance to talk to each other and to you. From my experience, schmoozing leads to best results and when you’re having fun it’s even better.
6. Take advantage of the live sessions. Check out the event agenda and join the sessions appealing to you. You can meet the big people in the industry and get their advice.
7. Follow-up after the event. Remember those business cards you received during the show? Now it’s time to follow-up with the people and get things moving. You don’t have to do it in the same day, but some 2-3 days after the event ends is a good period to reignite the discussion.

Do you have any other items to add to the list? How was Affiliate Summit West 2012 for you?

2011 – A year of tremendous expansion in how we serve our Software and SaaS customers

When I end a year, I like to take a moment to step back and appreciate what we accomplished.  2011 has been an incredibly exciting year for Avangate.

We launched our new SkyCommerce Suite, expanded our overall service with close to 1.000 new features and enhancements, delivered new marketing and optimization services, and extended our global presence with new team members and offices, including our new North American headquarters in Redwood Shores, California.  All of this with the aim of helping our customers sell more software through any channel and any model.

It is not too surprising that the software market continues to grow as software plays an increasingly important role in our world (see Andresseen’s view on how “Software is Eating the World“).  More interestingly is the massive shift in how software is being distributed and sold.   The market size of ESD and SaaS will grow from $45Bln to over $120Bln by 2014.  The 3TS Cisco Growth Fund recognized this opportunity with a $6 million investment in Avangate in March of this year, accelerating our growth and strengthening our global presence.

We’ve been honored to serve this market – we participated in, sponsored or organized over fourteen events this year to network, share ideas, and help our customers grow their businesses.  We now have over 2,000 clients, from some of the largest vendors of consumer software titles, such as Bitdefender and Kaspersky, to SaaS vendors including Terapeak and TeamLab.

In addition, our affiliate network has grown to over 27,000 software members – Majorgeeks, Siliconaction.com.br and TopTenServices.net are three power affiliates that joined in 2011.  I’m incredibly proud of the Avangate team for continuing to deliver a mature platform with the scale and flexibility to serve shareware, mid-market, and enterprise software and SaaS companies.  What’s more, we are honored to be recognized in Forrester’s recent report on Solutions For Digital Commerce.

2012 – Prediction, Cloudy with a Chance of Significant Growth

The cloud is not a new concept, but we see this trend accelerating to dominate future initiatives (8 out of 10 new software start-ups are SaaS). The software market will only continue to be driven and disrupted by the rise of the cloud.

What does this boil down to? I particularly liked a blog post by Louis Columbus talking about “stripping away the hype by asking how these technologies [analytics, big data and cloud computing] contribute to excellent customer experiences and greater customer engagement.  Those are the real catalysts of market growth and the greatest disruptive forces at work in enterprise software today.”

While there are many predictions for 2012 (many articles are mentioning growth for next year which is good news – here’s one example about the antivirus sub-vertical; and also check out this Boxing Day treat by Ray Wang), let us spotlight one that is specifically apt for software companies: the transition from systems of transaction to systems of engagements and experience.

Software: engagement across the lifecycle

We feel this is important and has many implications for a software company. As many ISVs transition from perpetual to pay-as-you-go models such as freemium, rental, or subscription, they need to also experiment with new partners and affiliates and manage sales worldwide through any channel, online and offline.  The challenge is to do this while providing a flexible and frictionless customer experience across the software lifecycle. We have focused on this in 2011 with our integrated SkyCommerce solution and are continuing this focus into 2012.

Software companies need to have the platform to effectively engage and create the right experiences for their customers and need to be able to do it in a way that complements, and not alienates, the resellers which still make up over 50% of software sales today.

Likewise, software resellers and distributors need to be able to take advantage of these industry shifts, continue to increasingly migrate their businesses online and focus on emerging trends, such as aggregating cloud services.

Meet with us

Stay tuned for new and exciting things we’ve planned for 2012. To start with, meet the team at the first industry event we’re attending next year: Affiliate Summit West, January 8-10, Las Vegas, USA.

Happy 2012 and best wishes from all of us here at Avangate!

P.S. Your point of view for 2012?

We would love to hear what you think are some of the key trends that will drive your sales in 2012. We will continue to build upon these issues into the New Year on this blog and look forward to continuing the conversation!

This morning, our Risk Management Team detected a massive SPAM action coordinated against Avangate. The messages were sent from multiple locations worldwide.

While the action it-self was not in any way a Phishing action, our Team detected malware contained within the respective notifications sent to web-users.

With this occasion we want to reiterate all the signs you have to look for when receiving an email referring to your payment details.

Affiliates in the Avangate Network already know this, but here’s the “official” announcement: we’re going to Affiliate Summit West 2012, set to be the largest event of such kind to date. And, of course, we hope to see you there, chat and maybe close some deals ;)

This will be our first Affiliate Summit West after 2 consecutive experiences on the East coast. To tell you the truth, we already have quite a busy schedule, filled with event-related activities and meetings we’ve set up there.

Avangate will be present in the Meet Market area on Sunday, January 8th 2012, between 12 PM and 6 PM – we’re waiting for you to drop by our table (#95) and we will be more than happy to meet you there during the summit.

Then, on Monday afternoon, I will speak about promoting software products as an affiliate based on some best practices from the Avangate Affiliate Network . You can join the discussion in the Ask the Experts Roundtable area starting 5 PM.

So, stay connected with our social media channels (Twitter, Facebook) for the latest updates related to our participation at Affiliate Summit. Whether you’re a software vendor, affiliate interested in promoting software or want to open a business partnership with Avangate, drop me a message to request a meeting at the summit – my colleagues and I will be more than happy to meet you there.

Viva Las Vegas! :)

Today around 30 percent of all software is distributed online and predictions are that it will account for 70 percent of all software sold in 2 – 3 years. Clearly, the cloud has changed virtually everything in how software is developed, distributed and consumed. Most importantly, it has given customers much more control: whether B2B or B2C, buyers want instant gratification and “frictionless” self-service transactions.  This disruption is also affecting pricing models as customers become more demanding about subscriptions or pay-as-you-go models.

This unprecedented amount of change is a good thing for industry innovators, as their new business models and technologies are born into a market eager to trying new products and services.

Why struggle with the transition alone?

So what about existing businesses? How do you adapt and change successfully? Do you once again chase the early majority and risk cannibalizing your present sales, or do you stay and try to hold onto the laggards? How are you taking advantage of international markets – optimizing your existing sales channels or onboarding new ones that have marketing strength and local knowledge?

At Avangate we see more and more ISVs transition from perpetual to pay-as-you-go models such as freemium, rental, or subscription; experiment with new channels, partners and affiliates. Try, test, measure, decide. How better than with a single, modular platform, providing the operational agility to do all of this with minimum effort and risk?

This is what today’s launch of our SkyCommerce™ Suite is about: helping software and SaaS vendors take advantage of these disruptive changes, get to market faster, complement their

The wave is coming. Learn to surf!

existing systems, and manage their end-to-end subscriber lifecycles, offering a consistent customer experience at every channel.

We are just scratching the surface, as there is plenty to talk about on these themes. You will hear more from us on this blog.

In the meantime, we want to hear what YOU think.  Share with us your opinion on what disruptions you see in the market – are they opportunities or threats for your software business?

The software market today is driven by the rise of cloud computing, forcing independent software vendors (ISVs) to fight commoditization-driven margin pressure, expand to new channels and markets, and move to “frictionless” self-service transactions. These new delivery models have irrevocably altered how software is developed, distributed and consumed…

… that was the heavy “marketing” intro. Now to the real world!

Actually, the truth is that the software world has changed and continues to change at a rapid pace. So let’s not just talk about it, let’s get together, learn how to understand the market challenges from the best in the industry and from each other, adapt these to our own reality, and do better.

So Avangate is inviting you to join us for a series of events during November and December – pick the location closest to you:  US, UK or China:
•    San Francisco: Thursday, November 10th, 2011, Zibibbo Restaurant
•    New York: Friday, November 18th, 2011, Crown Royalton Hotel
•    Beijing: Saturday, November 19th, 2011, Beijing Huang Yuan Hotel Ballroom
•    London: Thursday, December 8th, 2011, the Hospital Club

We’ve invited great speakers: Brian K. Walker, Vice President & Principal Analyst, Forrester Research, Inc., R “Ray” Wang, Principal Analyst and CEO, Constellation Research Group, Geno Prussakov, Affiliate Marketing Expert, AM Navigator LLC – check the links above to learn who is speaking at each location.

We’ll bring to the table not only great food, but also tips and guidance (and more!) on how to sell software and SaaS solutions in a world of many channels and many models.

Next step: register here. You’ll hear back from us – a friendly warning that places are limited and filling up fast!

Looking forward to meeting you there!