RightNow’s CSA - a game changer?

Dennis Howletthttp://www.accmanpro.com

Shock horror!

•Outside SMB offering, many SaaS vendors want the equiv of on-prem lock in and almost no shared risk

•The S in S_aaS has yet to become a reality

RightNow proposes CSA

•A refreshing change

•Innovation at the contracting and sales levels

•Disruptive to existing vendors

What is CSA?

•Customer Service Agreement

•Comprehensive engagement model

•Comes in 6 pieces

6 easy pieces

1.Annual Usage Alignment Up or Down

2.3 Year Price Commitment Plus 3 Year Renewal Price Cap

3.Annual Termination for Convenience

4.Annual Pools of Capacity

5.Cash Service Level Credits

6.Unlimited Capacity for 90-Day Pilots

Annual Usage Alignment

•No need to anticipate future need

•Re-balancing based on actual need

Price commitment

•Essentially a 6 year fixed price

•Provides certainty over a long period

•Avoids unanticipated price hikes

Annual Termination

•A ‘Get Out of Jail’ free card

•Contrasts with lock in under any circumstances

Annual Pools of Capacity

•Designed to allow peak usage variance (e.g. tax prep season)

•Allows other seasonal variations (e.g. hospitality)

•Avoids need to anticipate peak demand usage and cost accordingly

Cash service, credit levels

•Outside SMB where credits are informally awarded, SLAs are weak

•Aligns SLA risk with customer compensation

Unlimited 90 day pilot capacity

•Try before you buy for 90 days

•Allows easy ramp for proof of concept

Analysis

•Similar to what we see in SMB plays, albeit more formalized

•Represents a much fairer risk distribution

•Results focused

•Makes doing business easier

•Changes the market dynamics

Potential impact?

•Industry must respond. RNOW is now standing out

•Financial analyst concerns

Advisory

•RNOW has created equiv of SaaS Customer Bill of Rights - review

•Consider alternative cost scenarios

•Don’t forget functional fit: RNOW is B2C call center/email response management play

•Consider other contracts