The Software Industry: Economic Principles, Strategies, Perspectives [Hardcover]

Whether ERP software, office applications, open-source products or online games: In terms of its economic characteristics, software differs fundamentally from industrial goods or services. Based on the economic principles and rules of the software industry, the book reveals strategies and business models to software vendors that comprise cooperation, distribution, pricing and production and industrialization strategies, as well as software as a service and platform concepts. Further aspects including the outsourcing behavior of software vendors and users; providing business software as open source software; selecting software; and the value chains in the software industry are also addressed. Based on a number of expert meetings, it contains numerous case studies and new empirical findings. Target audience of the book are professionals and executives from the software, consulting and IT branches as well as students and scholars of business administration, computer science, business and industrial engineering.

Based on the economic principles and rules of the software industry, this book reveals strategies and business models including cooperation, distribution, pricing and production. Coverage includes discussion of software as a service and platform concepts.A. Background: How the software industry works.- Economic principles at work in the software industry.- Software vendor strategies.- B. Specific Issues: Outsourcing and offshoring of software development.- Platform concepts.- Software as a Service. 7. Open source software

From the reviews:

Software has become a commodity that can face competition, be quality tested and certified, and support user-centered services on demand. This book describes these aspects, the challenges the industry has faced, and the way the industry has responded to user demands. & A good reference on the software industry, this book will be appreciated by practitioners, academics, researchers, students,lC¯