Genesys Sees Subscription Pricing as Step to CloudGenesys Sees Subscription Pricing as Step to Cloud
Customers can subscribe to on-premises software on their path to the cloud.
January 18, 2018
Contact center company Genesys wrapped up 2017 with some solid results to show for itself. In a press release today, Genesys reported in 2017 it signed on 100 new customers of its PureConnect omnichannel engagement software, including The Coca-Cola Company.
Genesys confirmed that these 100 new logos represent a mix of premises and cloud business, but as of this writing wasn't able to provide specifics on the number of seats involved.
Additionally, Genesys said it released more than 50 new features and enhancements to PureConnect last year, the result of committing more than 200 developers to advancing the product. Among top enhancements it called out are a refreshed Web-based user interface; speech recognition and text-to-speech support for self-service; and a Web-based data dictionary for analytics.
While 2017 was arguably a successful year for PureConnect, 2018 is starting off pretty busy for the company. Also earlier this week, Genesys announced it's offering a subscription model for the on-premises and cloud versions of PureConnect, for midsized and large businesses, and PureEngage, for global enterprises. Genesys' PureCloud software is cloud-only, so already available via subscription.
"There is no inherent disconnect between Genesys's new 'cloud-first' positioning and offering subscription-based pricing for premises solutions," said contact center analyst Sheila McGee-Smith in an email exchange. "Instead, it is a recognition that not all organizations are ready for a wholesale move to the cloud. Subscription pricing helps organizations get their budgets ready for a future that might include a move to the cloud."
This move is about more than a subscription model. Rather, it's all about providing organizations with a stepping stone to the cloud, Janelle Matthews, SVP of solutions and product marketing at Genesys, told me in a briefing. "We're ... giving our customers a simple plan to make it easier for them to deliver premium customer experience. And what that plan includes is the ability to work with them to define their objectives, leveraging prescriptive use cases ... focused on business outcomes."
Matthews is referencing PureSuccess, which is a comprehensive set of services to support end-to-end customer lifecycles, she said. PureSuccess, also introduced this week, is included with a subscription to PureConnect or PureEngage. PureSuccess comes in four varieties depending on the level of support required -- low, medium, high-touch, and partner.
In a recent survey, Genesys learned that its customers have a clear preference toward a subscription model, no matter their approach to customer engagement, Matthews said. In addition, they want reduced risk and faster time to value, not to mention less complexity and more flexibility to adapt to business needs. She also cited similar results from a McKinsey survey on subscription preferences. In that survey, 46% of respondents like that the subscription model involves a smaller upfront investment, 43% said they prefer Opex over Capex, and 43% said they like the flexibility and ability to burst capacity.
Besides meeting its customer demands, Matthews said, the subscription model also helps Genesys align its roadmap with the way the market is moving.
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