What Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) Do & How They Can Help You

Your company’s pricing software vendor has built you a range of great functionalities that you need to address your specific business issues. But despite how awesome they are, you may have realized that your pricing vendor cannot keep up with the ever-changing technological landscape and how it relates to your business? It is a widespread challenge that has led to a surge in demand for technology-based partnerships with independent software vendors (ISVs), which extend their partners’ pricing platform capabilities by integrating functionalities/features of their own software. ISV partnerships provide the agility many businesses need by combining modules of your pricing platform’s technology with their own add-ons to deliver a smooth and consolidated user experience. And its why we wanted to give you the lowdown of what an ISV does and how they can assist you in your company’s pricing endeavors. 

At Pricefx, we have been assisting hundreds of businesses just like yours to unearth their own distinct pricing pathways to profit with the help of the latest in pricing software technology. During our journey, we matched many customers with our ecosystem of ISVs that have helped our clients to realize their business objectives and achieve the most value possible from their pricing software solutions. 

Let’s get started by jumping into the nitty-gritty of what ISVs do and the ways that they can help you reach your company’s goals, business aims and ambitions as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

What Does an ISV Do? 

ISVs (Independent Software Vendors) are one of the 4 distinct types of pricing software partners that work in combination with pricing software vendors to help companies’ business outcomes they are seeking.  

Other than the technological enablement that ISVs can add to your company’s pricing software functionality, other organizations also collaborate with Pricing Strategy Partners, System Integrators and Value-Added Resellers (VARs). 

However, for the focus of this article, we will be examining ISV partners and how they can help you turbo boost your pricing software functionality in alignment with your business objectives.

If you are not yet ready for a deep dive into what ISVs do, please refer to the article link directly below for a general overview of the diverse types of pricing software partners and which may be the best for your company to consider; 

How an ISV Partner Can Assist Your Business 

ISV partners are known to deliver several business benefits, including decreasing ROI (Return on Investment) times and improving customer retention and conversion rates by the technological improvements facilitating better pricing outcomes. 

And ISVs do that by providing businesses with pre-built connectors, functional extensions, and add-on solutions to their pricing software to tailor-make and deliver unique integrated pricing solutions to customize seamless user experiences. 

But Do I Really Need an ISV? 

That depends on what your business goals and pricing strategies are. 

The specific goals you want out of your pricing system are going to be the major deciding factor whether your organization will really gain a lot of pricing power by using an ISV or not. 

It is not unusual that many pricing software users do not need any additional functionality and are fine with their ‘out-of-the-box’ system or the functionality their vendor provides for them.  

For other businesses, (typically larger or enterprise-level companies), sometimes one or even more ISV partners may be required to help them achieve their desired pricing technology outcomes. 

Why Use an ISV Partner for your Business? 

Having an ISV partner in your corner can enable your organization to select additional pricing functionality for your software by extending your platform to do more. With the increased functionality, the extended range of tools can add rigor and an additional layer of complexity to help drive profit growth to your business, adhere to industry compliance standards (where applicable) and add value to your pricing software set up. 

In addition to improved pricing software functionality and user experiences, ISVs can also assist by reducing time and costs of implementations with well-timed and targeted connectors and extensions. 

What Types of Companies are a Good Fit for an ISV Partner? 

In short, any business that is looking to extend the capabilities and functionality of its current pricing software will be a good fit to profit by engaging an ISV partner. 

Take leading Pricefx ecosystem partner for example, the ISV, Apify, particularly well-known for extending the functionality of your pricing software by providing data scraping services. Apify is an ISV that partners with a range of companies across multiple industry sectors but is of particular value to retailers and manufacturers. 

Apify’s scraping services allow your business to extract unlimited amounts of structured data quickly and accurately from the web in the formats you need to make your software more capable of making data-informed pricing decisions and stay ahead of your competitors. 

It’s only one example of the benefits ISV partners can add to your software. The list of possible functionality additions to your pricing software continues to grow at an exponential rate. 

Take a closer look here at the ISV members of the Advantage Pricefx Partner network and learn more about the diverse types of specializations each partner can add to your pricing system. 

What Companies are NOT a Good Fit for ISV Partners? 

Companies that are only beginning on their pricing software journeys are not yet ready to be a good fit to join up with an ISV partner. However, they should not discount working with an ISV in the future as their organization becomes more ‘pricing mature.’ 

Usually, businesses that are starting their first-time pricing software adoption should consider familiarizing themselves with the range of pricing functionality on offer for them with an ‘out-of-the-box’ software version.  

As confidence and knowledge in the use of your pricing tool grows over time, the identification of additional specific requirements will become apparent to you. Once your distinct additional needs become known, your organization can consider forming an ISV partnership with a specialist in your requirements. 

If you have reached that point, it is also wise to check-in with other players in your tech stack (eCommerce, CRMs, ERPs etc.) to ensure you set up a bi-directional flow of data and that your systems are “speaking to each other” to optimize your prices effectively. 

How to Choose the Best ISV Partner for Your Business 

Before you begin working with an ISV partner, consult the checklist below of the four main points to consider in choosing the ISV partner that will be the best fit for your company; 

• Industry-Specific Suitability – Is my potential ISV partner a niche player suitable for my specific industry sector? 
• Seamless Integration – Choose an ISV partner that can confirm to you that their proposed solution will integrate smoothly with your existing pricing platform and tech stack combination/s? Two good things to check are; 1. Does the ISV conform to current practices and; 2. Do they offer pre-built connectors for the pricing functionality you require? 
• Are the ISV tech solutions certified/recognized by your pricing software vendor? 
• Is the ISV solution fit for purpose? – Does your prospective potential ISV partner offer the functionality that will make my pricing software faster, better, and more accurate? Ask yourself if the ISV partner’s solution changes will allow for your company’s business procedures to become more streamlined, and will your organization become more profitable as a result. 

Bring Expertise & Value with an ISV Partner 

In short, once you have made your ISV partner choice and the ongoing relationship is managed successfully, ISV partnerships can be critical for ensuring business agility and bottom-line profit growth by providing opportunities for pricing functionality improvements and penetrating new markets without extensive investments for you in terms of new product development. 

If you are a company that is scouring the pricing technology landscape for a pricing software solution with a strong ISV partnership component, then learn more about the Advantage Pricefx Partner Network with several quality ISV partner choices available. 

On the other hand, if you are still considering what assistance your organization may need from a pricing software partner, check out the article link below to learn about the distinct types of partners and the pros and cons of each; 

On the other hand, you may want to get your pricing software sorted out first. 

We can get you started and point you in the right direction of the ISV partner that will be your best fit in the future once your pricing software solution is up-and-running, and your specialized needs have been identified. 

Click on the image below to talk to one of our pricing experts;