International accounting software vendors will soon feel the effect of the plummeting rand as local businesses consider cheaper options.
Software prices have already increased by 40% and will continue to rise as the rand weakens, according to Palladium Business Solutions MD Stephen Corrigan.
He believes that this is the time for locally owned accounting software companies to shine. “We are experiencing a huge interest from companies that previously looked at dollar-based products. They all just went up 40% in price, no wonder they are calling us.
“The weakening of the rand will be the cause of price increases across the board. At Palladium, we reduced our international pricing accordingly and have seen an upsurge in demand. We need to take advantage of the weakening rand,” Corrigan adds.
He believes this is also a good time for companies to retire their aging costly enterprise software. “To have a rand hedged product in today’s environment is critical. The modern way of thinking is a ‘pay as you go’ or subscription model with no upfront balloon payments.”
Palladium offers a subscription model as well as a software purchase model with an optional support contract, giving its clients options.