Back to the articles

Why should you buy your CMMS online?

Why should you buy your CMMS online?

Friday 20 september 2019

According to a study by eMarketer, the turnover of global e-commerce will exceed 5 trillion dollars by 2021. This complete change in the way we buy goods or services can be observed in both B2C and B2B purchases by individuals and businesses.
 
In this article, we will take a look at the purchase of business software, with a particular focus on CMMS (Computer Assisted Maintenance Management) and show the many advantages inherent in online acquisition. Indeed, it is no secret that traditional purchases, time-consuming processes, which require traveling, meetings with intermediaries, multiple stages, will soon be a thing of the past.
 
In the sector of business software solutions such as CMMS, we can observe that the offer is gradually being implemented and that quickly, under the impetus of pioneers, the purchase of these advanced functional software can be carried out online in a few clicks with maximum security and efficiency.

However, for now, very few publishers are able to offer a purchase of their solution online. This should also be an alert for the decision-maker because the absence of online purchasing can hide both a heaviness of the solution, the use of aging technologies, a lack of confidence in the relevance of the solution and - last but not least - the desire not to be transparent on its prices.

For a publisher, offering this sales channel demonstrates great confidence in its product and service, a high level of organization and the use of the latest technologies. In addition, it is essential that the editor has perfectly thought through and implemented a simple, fluid onboarding of users in terms of application setup, online help, user creation and data import. The facilitation of these steps allows a quick start, ensures that the users are familiar with the solution and saves the client's team a considerable amount of time.

Buying a CMMS the old-fashioned way : a long and biased journey

In a traditional way, the purchasing cycle of CMMS software is divided into several stages, which we will repeat below:

Contacting several publishers
Setting an appointment with a sales representative from each publisher
Getting to know about the company's history, its values etc.
Undergoing a long presentation of slides or at best a demonstration always arranged
 Observing the software's functionalities but not precisely what you need
Being told th at yes, of course, anything is possible... Observing the software's functionalities but not precisely what you need
Recieving a quote,
Then having to consider everything, compare with very little information, negotiate and decide...

... It's not over yet ! The time comes - finally - for deployment and disillusionment because it is the moment when we will be able to compare what has been oversold by the sales representative (suddenly less available) with what is really able to deliver the tool... but it is already too late!

Seriously, who wants to continue with this purchase method? Would it not be possible to make the purchase of a CMMS solution simpler, more rational and more professional?

Benefits and advantages of online shopping for companies

This slow, costly, inefficient and risky process can now be advantageously replaced by an online decision preceded by a trial period where automation has been thought of in order to perceive directly, without intermediaries, the effectiveness of the solution and its real adequacy to your own needs. The human being is in no way absent from this process but is only called upon on essential points to support the process.

Online purchasing eliminates intermediaries that provide little value, saves considerable time and increases flexibility when purchasing software. As shown by the global study "Online and Mobile are Transforming B2B Commerce", according to which there is a 52% purchase rate on mobiles and tablets in B2B, companies are keen to buy from their smartphone, and therefore seek the speed and flexibility of their acquisitions. Moreover, thanks to the advent of the cloud, no specific installations are required to receive its CMMS software. In addition, online purchases can be made 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is therefore not necessary to wait until a contact person is available, to make contact for appointments. Another advantage is that international software publishers like Yuman do not necessarily always work in the same time zones as their customers, so it is now possible for remote customers to start, test and adopt the solution independently of any time difference constraints.

Purchasing becomes simple, efficient, as should any investment for an operating company. No more energy loss or unnecessary waiting periods. The digitalization of the maintenance world also requires the constant evolution of software accessibility, online purchasing is a major breakthrough in this transformation of the sector and allows a much larger number of companies to benefit from the functionalities and automatisms of this software.

A new trend that will quickly become unavoidable

At first glance, it may seem reassuring to talk to intermediaries, sales representatives and consultants when choosing the software for your company. Interviews with members of the publishing company give a sense of security, human presence makes the transaction more reassuring. But as we have seen, these discussions are biased by the interest of these same intermediaries, which very often leads to the purchase of tools that are ultimately unsuitable and which - at best - will require months of project work in order to be adapted and - at worst - will never be used.

Remember, until a few years ago, shopping online was unthinkable, out of habit, mistrust and feared : a new phenomenon. Only a minority of early adopters ventured to do so. From now on, purchasing practices have been totally disrupted, secure payment has emerged, platforms have improved and the purchasing standard for many goods and services is now the web. The same will apply to business software as it is already the case for many applications: word processing, spreadsheets of course, but especially CRM software, collaboration software, mobile business applications, etc. The list is already long.

So what about CMMS? In an era of digitisation of our society as a whole, if it escapes anyone's notice only if many economic sectors are in the midst of a transition to integrate new technologies into their own activities, it is notable that the industrial and property maintenance service sector is still seriously lagging behind on the path to digital transition. And so it is with the implementation of a new tool within the company.

Test, test, test, test... and buy!

As a member of the company, you know the company's needs best, and you are therefore in a position to know what is best for it. The fact that you do this comparison and reflection work yourself before buying online without feedback from a publisher to bias you can help you make better decisions when buying.

Indeed, when buying online, keep in mind that you will have previously been able to compare the software between them, and that any fears you may have had to acquire online will have been completely dispelled. After taking the time to compare your pre-selection of software, collect the necessary information, test the different trial versions, you can switch with confidence to the paid version of the software you have definitively selected with full knowledge of the facts.

Note that the fluidity of the online software purchasing process is an excellent indicator of the quality of the proposed tool: it is indeed the same development team that created both the application and the site that presents it and allows you to purchase it.

Do not forget also that the publisher's business experts will be at your disposal to assist you, answer all your questions and provide you the best solution. But now it is happening in a new way. The aim is no longer to overwhelm the customer with unnecessary business information, but to provide accurate and precise advice when needed.

CONCLUSION

CMMS are tools that help professionals to be faster and more efficient. Let us align their purchasing procedure with this objective. Online purchasing is a new generation functionality, already widely used for software purchasing in other sectors and will soon become the purchasing standard for maintenance management software. Be yourself pioneers, save time and make your purchasing decision easier with the online sale of business applications!

Find our offers on our website and feel free to take advantage of our free trial to make your own opinion.

By the way, our ambition is to offer an unparalleled user experience. Check it out right away: try CMMS for free. Within 2 minutes, the time it takes to create your account, you'll discover what's newest in this category of software.

You can also benefit from a demonstration led by one of our consultants: book a videoconference

Good discovery and see you soon.

 

📰 You will also be interested in reading :

Back to the articles