Hi All

Has anyone got any advice as to In-house ecampaign software; what are the advantages and disadvantages to it? Also, could anyone recommend a good one?

Thanks

Hi Tanya,

Here are some advantages of having in-house ecampaign software:

*One-off licence fee as opposed to a cost per email structure.  More cost effective if sending high volumes of email
*Full control of the application, the IT infrastructure and responsibility for the deliverables
*Enables integration with existing CRM solution
*Provides good control over campaign timing
*Web capture on website feeds contact data directly into ecampaign software
*Provides full control of internal data
*Minimises ongoing costs

CommuniGator offer both an in-house and hosted solution: www.communigator.co.uk

let me know if you would like any further info, amanda.clifford@communigator.co.uk

On 10:21:07 22 June 2007 Tanya3 wrote:

Hi All

Has anyone got any advice as to In-house ecampaign software; what are the advantages and disadvantages to it? Also, could anyone recommend a good one?

Thanks

The ‘Software As A Service (SaaS)’, On-Demand business model has replaced the traditional install in software applications in most disciplines, email marketing arguably more than most.  There are many compelling reasons and lessons learnt to support this argument and this has been reflected in the market-place with few, if any of the top  vendors now offering install solutions.  

The advantages of SaaS

•  Single leading product with economies of scale
• Business model forces vendors to stay at leading edge and provide good service
• Vendor manages increasingly complex delivery relationships, authentications and monitoring
• Any issues or bugs become business critical to resolve in few minutes or seconds
• Access application anywhere
• Highest levels of data protection and security benefits from economies of scale
• Option of individual preferences/privileges
• Means you always have a choice – moving provider is always simple 
   

The disadvantages of an install solution include

• Delivery may be from your servers and therefore your problem
• Little incentive for Vendor to provide great service
• Little incentive to develop product at leading edge
• Updates require IT resource
• These may be imposed even if you don’t want them as they may no longer support old versions
• No iterative development – bug fixes, usability, small enhancements
• If the product goes down/fails/doesn’t do what you require, you become a single voice
• It involves your IT teams time to install, update and maintain
• Issues can be a grey area – is it your problem or a vendor fault
• Hidden costs of hardware, bandwidth and most notably internal time
   

In addition to the above generic arguments, Communicator’s offering has been built on the back of the blend of technology and account management.  This account management (offering proactive advice, expertise, analysis, reviews etc – all contractual) usually offers more value and ROI than any technology, identifying how we can increase data capture, automate communication, increase opens, clicks, retention, spend and ROI.