Why software satisfaction matters more than ever

Difficult economic conditions make it hard for businesses to thrive and budget cutbacks flow through to business software, where companies often have to make do with what they have rather than investing in new systems or entering new markets.

But recession is also the mother of invention and firms that are able to stay alert and agile have the opportunity to exploit opportunities that emerge from the financial gloom. This is the message from the Software Satisfaction Awards 2011 for both users and suppliers of business applications.

Customer loyalty is a key driver in the software industry, and those developers who stay close to their markets and fulfil their users’ needs during the hard times are the ones who will prosper as the economy recovers.

Now in their seventh year, the Software Satisfaction Awards, organised by BusinessZone.co.uk publisher Sift Media, are based on one of the UK's biggest business market surveys, with more than 7,000 respondents taking part last year. The awards honour the best performers across a range of business functions (Accounting & Finance, CRM, HR/training) to help software buyers and the suppliers identify who sets the benchmark for customer support and product performance.

During the past three years, for example, the Software Satisfaction Awards have highlighted the rapid acceptance of Cloud-based applications, even among supposedly conservative accountants. Will the Cloud industry’s exponential growth curve continue, or will the customer focus and brand-building efforts of the larger suppliers help them fight back in 2011?

Whether you are a software supplier or user, visit the Software Satisfaction Awards website to find out more about previous nominees and winners in the different categories and how entering the scheme can improve developers’ chances of success in 2011.

The online SSA11 survey will open for voting early in the summer.