(Updated)
Ad-supported content? Yes. Personal Productivity tools? Yes. Enterprise Software? No way. (IMHO)
There’s an interesting, Microsoft-induced debate at ZDNet re. the possibiliy of funding free On-Demand software via advertising:
- Ad-supported Windows and desktop apps?
- The ads are coming, the ads are coming
- Who could possibly benefit from ad-funded applications?
- Why does ad-supported software inspire such antagonism?
- Why not fund on-demand with … money?
It all started with Microsof app’s but from there it’s just a step to arrive to Gerge Colony of Forrester: “ I foresee a world in which even enterprise applications like financials, ERP (enterprise resource planning), and supply chain software will be advertising-funded.”
My take: that we have a lot of web-based content supported by ads is already a fact. Consumer software, personal productivity tools? Quite possible.
Enterprise Software is a different animal. Why? It is used by businesses, who have their own business processes and workflow. Clicking on ads would be a distraction from that business process, I can’t possibly see why companies would support it. True, there will be major changes in the delivery/ pricing model for enterprise software. When prices come down from the stratospheric heights set by Oracle, SAP et al and become more reasonable, a’la Salesforce, NetSuite, SugarCRM, 24SevenOffice, SmartCompany ..etc, my bet is companies would rather pay those prices then accept the productivity-loss caused by their employees clicking around the Net for hours a day…
Update (11/29) : SAP’s Jeff Nolan on Ad-supported Business Apps.
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