IMSI has announced that it has developed and begun aggressive integration into its software products of a new technology that will make IMSI the first software company to move its products from the desktop to a browser platform.
"Impression Layer Technology, as we call it, has massive implications on our business plan and the software industry as a whole," says Martin Sacks, president and chief executive officer for IMSI. "We expect that the integration of this technology into desktop software will change the way we communicate with our customer - blurring the lines between the desktop and the Internet."
The new technology, created by IMSI, integrates web browsing into software applications - connecting the user to IMSI product web sites via the Internet every time the application is opened.
"This changes the entire value model for our software products," says Sacks. "This technology allows us to establish a deep relationship with every one of our customers, and to build a much richer value model on top of every product that is used. Previously, our revenue opportunities with a customer were constrained by the fact that we had no way to effectively communicate with our users. Now, we can impression the user from the moment he installs the software. The entire time the application is in use, we can offer dynamic new content - everything from product upgrades to links to related sites to customer support to banner ads and special offers."
He adds that within a short period of time IMSI will be able to measure and report on `session-minutes` of users using its products.
"Imagine the implications for sales and marketing," he says. "Instead of waiting for the return of registration cards, we have instant access to our users. We can reach out and touch them daily or whenever they use the product. We can collect valuable information on their demographics. We can partner with and integrate the services of large companies looking to reach our target customers."
He adds that in addition to sales and marketing software pricing, customer service, and product development models will all be affected as this technology takes hold in the marketplace.
He adds that the technology which is the company`s natural next step towards an online-based strategic model will have significant impact on software pricing and the way in which IMSI charges for software.
"We`re examining lower pricing and even free models which given the expected expansion of our customer base will allow us to offer much larger backend revenue opportunities to our partners," Sacks says. "We`re the first company to embrace this model and move forward with it - and one of the reasons is because of its profit potential."
"Impression Layer Technology is one of the important steps in our strategy of applying Internet metrics to our business moving from a pure product functionality focus to a content and integrated services model," he says.
The first product to benefit from integration of the Impression Layer Technology will be IMSI`s soon-to-be-released TurboCADÒ 6.0
"This is the first step in our evolution from a desktop software company to being able to host many of our applications in a browser over the web," says Sacks.
He adds that IMSI is looking to partner with various portal sites to offer its product functionality over the web to a much larger audience of potential users.
"We plan to have ten application-hosted applications by the end of the year," Sacks says. "As we roll out this new Impression Layer Technology and it receives customer acceptance, we expect it to massively change the IMSI business model and the way the software industry interacts with its customers for the better."
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