Soſt ware soſt ware they buy, followed by Internet investigations, trade shows and trade magazines or websites. With cybersecurity becoming a growing concern among corporate clients, commercial AV integrators are getting in the business of providing soſt ware services to their clients. In all, 72% of commercial integrators off er some type of soſt ware for their clients, and 58% of those integrator who do charge an ongoing maintenance or licensing fee to their clients. Type of Soſt ware Preference Custom-built mix 6% No Opinion 11% Tablet 16% Desktop/ locally based 31% Cloudbased 53% Handheld/ mobile device 19% PC or laptop in offi ce 39% Laptop in the fi eld 26% Top 9 Reasons for Abandoning Soſt ware 1. Too many bugs/Didn't work 2. Too expensive 3. Incompatible with other soſt ware 4. Too complicated/Diffi cult to use 5. Poor support from soſt ware supplier 6. Company outgrew it 7. Lack of time to onboard properly 8. Lack of buy-in by employees 9. Required dedicated hardware we could not accommodate Soſt ware Interface Usage The average integrator abandons one piece of soſt ware every 20 months. New Soſt ware Purchase Frequency Every 9+ years 4% Every 6 to 8 years 6% Every 3 to 5 years 30% Multiple times per year 8% Once per year 25% Every 2 years 26% More than half of integrators prefer cloud-based solutions. Integrators want to be able to access their soſt ware solutions in multiple ways both from the offi ce and in the fi eld. The average integrator buys a new piece of soſt ware once every 20 months. Soſt ware Eff ect on Profi ts 31% to 50% boost 7% 51%+ boost 4% 21% to 30% boost 13% 16% to 20% boost 15% No eff ect 6% 1% to 5% boost 14% 6% to 10% boost 11% to 20% 15% boost 22% The median increase in profi t from using various pieces of business management soſt ware is 13.4%. Top 7 Soſt ware Selection Criteria 1. Price 2. Speed 3. Support 4. Compatibility 5. Secureness of Data 6. Mobile Device Accessibility 7. Supplier Reputation The advent of cloudbased solutions has made soſt ware more aff ordable for more integrators. Top 6 Ways of Finding New Soſt ware 1. Referrals from other integrators 2. Internet searches 3. Trade shows 4. Trade magazines/websites 5. Trade associations 6. Buying groups Much like hardware solutions, dealers trust the advice of their peers when picking soſt ware. 28 Commercial Integrator DECEMBER 2021 commercialintegrator.comhttp://www.commercialintegrator.com