For decades, we have all seen the cost of doing business climb. Yet, companies investing in new technology stacks demand cost-effective solutions, with subscription-based platforms being preferred. So, how can big (and little) technology companies continue to grow and be profitable in the hospitality technology space? Enter the ever-increasing Payment-based Software as a Service and Inter-Vendor Integration Revenue Sharing trends. In payment-based software as a service, all or part of the core solution being purchased is paid for through a mandated or sometimes optional use of a card payment platform that the vendor owns or resells. For inter-vendor revenue-sharing models, vendors agree to divide the generated revenue of the sale of joint integrations. This is often done without the knowledge of the purchasing consumer company, with the split rarely being equal. So, how did this all evolve? I look back at my past to help lend insight.
I am often credited with creating a Customer-First organization at Infor Hospitality, and I am incredibly proud of this achievement. However, building a customer-focused organization is like walking on a tightrope made of razor wire. Every day, my executive team had to make difficult decisions in order to balance bringing new hospitality technology innovations to market while also ensuring that our existing customers were satisfied with their purchased solutions.