Though the market is deluged with software packages for diverse corporate needs, the demand for packaged software is yet to take off in the real sense. At present, the software products being used by most organizations can be classified into two broad categories: office productivity packages and business application products. The office productivity software for applications like word processing, database management, presentation, etc. is mostly pirated. Users don't pay for seven out of every 10 packages in use. Even standalone packages for business applications like financial accounting are copied illegally by users. To combat the piracy menace, vendors need to educate the buyers about the benefits of using licensed software. They can also make “starter editions” of software affordable so that when the users realize the product utility, they could buy the advanced editions.

A very large number of  small and medium businesses are trying to embrace technology to streamline their business processes. So packages like enterprise resource planning hold enormous potential even for mid-size companies sector. These packages are supposed to cover applications like financial management, inventory management, human resource management, production planning and control, among others. There are other application areas, too. However, initially, buyers would like to deploy only the low-cost local solutions. So local vendors need to refine their marketing strategies to meet that need. They should be able to woo the buyers with modular products that allow them to move gradually toward total automation. Likewise, pay-per-use software service models can be good for enterprises that want to conserve their capital costs. For market growth, vendors should also ensure quality of software and enhanced levels of support.

It's time for marketers to realize that there's a huge latent demand in the packaged software market. They can tap it with the right marketing approach.

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