eSellerate announced today that software vendors now have the ability to send shipping requests directly to Amazon Fulfillment. Software Vendors manage their Amazon account separately, but he tie-in is an interesting alternative to existing fullfilment methods. This marks eSellerate as the first of the software e-commerce platforms to implement this feature, will others follow suit, or has eSellerate delivered something unique?

"Normally, publishers selling physical products through eSellerate take care of all the fulfillment duties, from receiving shipping requests to shipping the products and marking the orders as fulfilled. As an alternative, we now offer the ability to integrate with Amazon Fulfillment, a service that enables merchants to outsource fulfillment of their products. Publishers who use this option can set up their eSellerate stores to send fulfillment requests to Amazon when orders require shipping. After shipping the items, Amazon sends "Your order has shipped" e-mails to the customers, and notifies eSellerate that fulfillment is complete. We then mark the orders as fulfilled." - eSellerate

This is a submission from Hunter Richards, who blogs about online accounting software and other systems for Software Advice.

Streamline business processes. Enhance workflow. Increase visibility. Do these really mean anything? Let’s face it – ERP, CRM, and accounting system vendors talk a lot of nonsense about their products. Inspired by Gartner‘s magic quadrants, I’ve decided to put this marketing jargon in its place. The quadrant below classifies the most common phrases, sorted by degree of overuse and lack of meaning. Hover your mouse over a given phrase to see my snarky comments.

Note that we find a lot of straight-up gibberish, a fair amount of creative garbage (my favorite), a little bit of acceptable marketing, and no helpful description whatsoever. No wonder the software selection process is so grueling. But hey, that’s what we’re here for – to dig through all the fluff. So, what methodology did I use, you ask? Well… it was purely subjective. Don’t like how I judged your favorite phrase? Leave me a comment.

This originally appeared on the Software Advice blog: A War of Enlightenment Against Marketing Jargon.

This season's upcoming software conferences are as follows:

Affiliate Summit East 2011
New York, NY
August 21-23, 2011
http://www.affiliatesummit.com/

WordCamp
Conferences several locations
Seattle, Washington, April 16, 2011
Atlanta, Georgia, May 6-7, 2011
Orange, California, May 14, 2011
Raleigh, North Carolina, May 21-22, 2011
http://central.wordcamp.org/schedule/

ISDEF Spring 2011
Independent Software Developers Forum
Kiev, Ukraine
April 22-24, 2011
http://www.isdef.org/en/conference/

Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2011
Los Angeles, California
July 10-14, 2011
http://www.digitalwpc.com/

Business of Software 2011
Boston, Massachusetts
October 24-26, 2011
http://blog.businessofsoftware.org/2011/01/business-of-s
oftware-2011-dates-announced.html

European Software Conference
London, England
November 19-20, 2011
http://www.euroconference.org/

SIC
Software Industry Conference
TBD - After 20 years the conference may not go ahead this year
http://sic.org/

News from both eSellerate and SWReg. Both of these Digital River software ecommerce platforms have sent notice that they will be rolling out new "Business Intelligence" reports come April 1st. As they've used that same name on both platforms could this finally be the start of some commonality between two of Digital River's many ecommerce platforms? We will find out soon!

Here's the note from eSellerate:

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We know you need quick access to comprehensive data and insightful reporting.  We also know that you need to spend your time on proactive efforts to increase your revenue.   Our new reporting system will do that—providing access to actionable data to give you increased insight into managing your business.  You will have more ways to look at trends in your business and take action to grow your sales.  Our goal is provide you with access to what you need, when you need it. 
 
While the new Business Intelligence Reporting will provide you with quick access to the data you need, we know that with any change, you may have questions about this new solution.  To assist you in the transition to the new Business Intelligence reporting happening on April 1, 2011, we will be here to answer any questions you might have.

iPortis, one of the e-commerce companies that software vendors use to sell their products have taken the unusual step on pulling the plug on their PayPal integration. We've all had customer service nightmares with big companies but it's not that often that these get reflected in business arrangements.

Here's what iPortis had to say...

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This message is to let you know about changes to our platform starting on February 13th at midnight (EST).

As you are aware, we offer your customers a wide range of purchase methods to make the purchase of your products as easy as possible.

Over the last 6 months, we have been working with PayPal to improve our relationship with them, as the level of customer service and support we have received from them over the last few years has been less than we would have expected, or hoped.

We have decided to move away from offering PayPal as a purchase option at this time until they are able to demonstrate they are capable of providing the level of service we require in order to provide you the best service possible. We will continue to work with PayPal going forward in order to possibly provide it as a payment option in the near future, and will keep you updated with our progress.

In order to continue to provide you the best service possible, we have recently launched a service option that will allow you to process PayPal orders through your own PayPal account, and leverage iPortis.com to provide a fill-service fulfillment option so that our system can create an Order ID number, registration codes, and use our reporting system as well.

To learn more about this service, please visit http://www.iportis.com/fulfillment.php

This is a guest post by Hunter Richards, who writes on the Software Advice blog.

When Bob Dylan sang, “The times, they are a changin’,” he probably wasn’t thinking about value-added resellers (VARs). But VARs should pay attention all the same. VARs have traditionally made money selling and servicing on-premises systems, but now cloud computing is poised to rain on their parade. VARs will need to adapt to compete in the times ahead.

Over the next five to ten years, opportunities to resell software and hardware will dwindle as more companies adopt cloud-based systems. Processes for software procurement, implementation, and training will change. VARs must change their current service offerings to be successful in this new market. Let’s examine what’s happening to VAR revenue sources.

Software Sales		Integration
Hardware Sales		Customization/Configuration
Installation		Training/Change Management

Software resale has comprised a large portion of VAR cash flow. But cloud vendors have adopted a consumerized sales approach, emphasizing simplicity in the purchasing process and selling directly to customers. Also, without the need for hardware set-up and other ancillary services, local resellers are less important. Resale opportunities will decline, but new opportunities will arise.

Hardware resale opportunities will also decline. With cloud-based systems, servers are no longer installed on-premises – so this revenue will vanish. Desktop computer sales will be fewer and far between. Because cloud-based systems require less memory and processing power than on-premises ones, desktops will require less frequent replacement and will be sold at lower price points.

Installation services will be less relevant. Cloud-based systems require no software installation, so this opportunity will not exist in cloud computing. Some installation services, such as installing desktop systems or a new network, will still be in demand. But in general, VARs will need to move away from this type of service toward other opportunities.

Integration services will decline, but the process will be gradual. Cloud-based systems require fewer points of integration and offer better control over how customizations affect integration, so cloud-based apps will eventually be easier to integrate than on-premises systems. That’s not to say that cloud-based systems are easier to integrate today, but we believe they will be over time.

Customization and configuration services will persist, but they won’t escape the need to adapt. VARs can’t customize cloud-based systems to the extent of on-premises solutions. Today, there isn’t a huge opportunity in customizing most cloud systems. It’s just a matter of time, however, before customization tools for cloud systems mature and demand for these implementation services grows.

Training services will change. A cloud-based system’s user interface (UI) is typically easier to use, so less training is required. For on-premises systems with more complex UIs, companies have needed training services from a local advisor – the VAR. But with the ease of new cloud-based systems, this will no longer be the case. Still, VARs can offer more sophisticated training to hold on to this revenue.

Adaptation and creativity are the keys to staying relevant in a moving market. Luckily, VARs have many opportunities to re-focus their business strategies.

The VAR Survival Playbook

In this evolving market, VARs need to offer more sophisticated services and embrace the coming changes to avoid being left behind. Partnership with a successful cloud vendor is essential, but vendors are finite. That’s why there’s a land grab going on. The strategic VAR will enter the brawl now and get to these vendors before competitors can.

The ideal cloud partner for the VAR will have three key attributes:

• a bright outlook such that their product will be in demand;
• plans to develop a VAR channel in addition to selling directly; and
• partner support in the form of software development kits (SDKs), co-marketing and training.

But the territorial victory of partnership is only the beginning of the cloud transition. Next, VARs should make five bold moves to gain a sturdy foothold in the market.

1. Specialize. Narrow your focus to a vertical market or application category, rather than defining your company by its geographic territory. Cloud vendors are still building up their core applications, so the industry-specific capabilities aren’t yet up to par with those of on-premises systems like Microsoft Dynamics and Epicor. Be the first to develop vertical extensions for a major cloud-based system, and learn to speak the buyer’s language. Alternatively, gain expertise with one application category, such as business intelligence or accounting.

2. Develop competency on a leading Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). You’ve probably learned at least one SDK for on-premises systems. Now you must do the same for new cloud products. Learn and specialize in the developer tools for a cloud-based platform like SuiteFlex (NetSuite) or Force.com (Salesforce.com). You can build your own applications and customizations, and then market them. You’ll build credibility in the eyes of both vendors and customers. The time is now to invest in cutting-edge skills for the future before it’s too late.

3. Make the cloud’s efficiency work for you. Just as the centralized nature of cloud-based software benefits customers, it can also benefit VARs. With cloud-based systems, there’s far less need to send staff to the site. Use the extra time to start an internal, centralized sales team serving a broader territory. You can become as good at inside sales – or better than – the ISV. ISVs respect sales machines. The same applies to service. Retrain your team to service customers remotely, such that they can serve multiple clients in a day.

4. Offer technology-enabled services. Because cloud-based systems are accessible anywhere, it’s easier to become a seamless extension of the customer’s organization. Offer business process outsourcing. Some core business processes – accounting, for example – are essential, but don’t offer competitive advantage. Develop internal competencies so customers can outsource these operations to you. If you’re a former accountant-turned-VAR, get closer to your roots. Apply your domain expertise to services like collections, procurement, and reporting.

5. Promote the cloud to your existing customer base. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. We’re entering a major platform transition – there will soon be an incredible shift to cloud-based systems. Get in on the action now and embrace it. Your biggest asset is your existing customer base, so help them transition to the cloud. Don’t try to sell against a secular trend. If your customers are unaware of the cloud, explain the benefits and sell cloud systems to replace on-premises ones. Keep pace with the new technology at all costs.

This is a guest post by Hunter Richards, who writes on the Software Advice blog.