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In addition to finding the latest information on developers and their software, you can, with increasing frequency, buy their software directly off the Internet. With the phenomenal growth of the Internet, selling software through this channel allows you to reach a large, computer savvy global market easily, economically and efficiently. The growing trend towards Electronic Software Distribution (ESD) means that not only has order taking been shifted to the Internet, but so has product delivery. According to a 1996 Soft*Letter ESD Survey, completed by 310 PC software companies, 89% of survey respondents expect that ESD will contribute at least 33% of company revenues by the year 2000.

Why the interest in selling products through the Internet?
It provides software sellers with an easy and cheap distribution channel and software buyers with a quick and efficient way of getting software.

easy and cheap distribution channel

Companies have traditionally used the Internet to market themselves and their products. Selling on the Internet is a natural extension of this. Once you have the customer at your site and have told them all about your product, you can ask for the sale while you have their interest. The two most common ways in which companies are pursuing sales on the Internet are through Online Ordering and ESD.

Online Ordering is the precursor to true Electronic Software Distribution and is how many companies begin using the Internet as a sales channel. With Online Ordering the customer/user logs on to a website, completes an order form including payment information and submits it to the software manufacturer or reseller. This acts as a new source of completed order forms which can then be fulfilled through the company's existing product distribution channels. Online Ordering has been utilized by many companies as an alternative to phoning or faxing in a completed order form. The upside to this strategy is that it allows for the use of existing production and distribution methods, is relatively easy to implement, lowers the cost of getting the order, and results in increased registration of product users. However, it is still necessary to produce and store an inventory of goods and you are still susceptible to back order situations and shipping delays.

With ESD the entire sale/purchase, including delivery of the product, is completed in an online electronic transaction.

... advantages of ESD include near instant gratification

The customer logs on to the website, places the order through a secure order form, submits payment information and then proceeds to download the purchased software. The advantages of ESD include near instant gratification of the customer's decision to buy, ease of software delivery, 100% software user registration, and easy tracking of software sales. ESD eliminates the need to manufacture and store large inventories of shrink-wrapped goods, costly courier/shipping charges, and in addition eliminates the need to manage potential back order situations.

ESD does require the setup of a new product (downloadable software) and a new distribution system (download delivery). It also raises some concerns over the security of the software product (piracy prevention) and the validity of the order transaction. Software security issues are being handled through the use of software Wrappers and License applications.

Software Wrappers function by "shrink-wrapping" the software's executable (.exe) file and require that the software is unlocked before it can be installed and used. This unlock code can be transmitted after payment of the order is confirmed, so there is some protection of the software. The advantages of using a Wrapper are that it is relatively easy to do, provides some protection from unlawful use and does not require modification of the source code. However, Wrappers provide no piracy protection once the product has been "unwrapped".

Software Licenses can provide advanced security features such as timing out the application and preventing it from being copied to other machines. In addition they often support more sophisticated sale models such as try before you buy, pay per use and subscription models. The drawback is that Licensing requires modification of source code and testing of the modified software, and it is more costly than Wrapping the software.

For additional information and to see how software is being sold on the Internet, visit these sites:

www.techwave.com and www.tryandbuy.com
TechWave Inc. is a provider of ESD services and products. The TryAndBuy site gives you the opportunity to see what TechWave can do for you.

www.buysoftware.com
BuySoftware, a TechWave online store, allows you to order software items online and specify your shipping preferences. They also have software available for download.

www.digitalriver.com
Digital River distributes software and other online products and helps software developers sell products through their own websites.

www.softsearch.com
SoftSearch Software Information Service, the world's largest source of software information, is a reseller of software applications through partnership with Digital River. Visit SoftSearch for information on software to meet your needs and to download software from the site.