Why does Foundant software cost so much less?
Many people ask how we can afford to sell our solution at a price that is substantially lower than prices offered by other software providers. We have some firm beliefs on the subject of pricing so we wanted to share these thoughts with our customers and prospects.
Share the risks, share responsibility, share the rewards
Historically, limited competition has resulted in a seller’s market among providers of grants management software. There is a belief that since grant making organizations are well funded, high prices and very strong margins are acceptable. Software is sold at high initial costs resulting in the project risk resting solely on the shoulders of the customer with the hope that they will receive enough benefit for the investment to payback over time
Foundant believes in a fair pricing model that shares the risks & rewards with our customers. Our software is licensed on a subscription basis and after we factor in costs for sales, training & support we only make a limited profit on the initial subscription with a given customer. As we continue to deliver value to our customers and they renew their subscriptions, the relationship delivers a fair return to us. This pricing model ensures that we are equally dedicated to the success of every customer installation.
Share costs, share resources, save money
Most grant management software has also been delivered to customers via an expensive format. Most software must be installed locally which increases the costs for both grant makers and the vendors. The customer must purchase a server to house the software and assumes the responsibility to maintain the hardware and software. Vendors have little control over the environment their software is installed within and have no direct access to the software to help with troubleshooting. This software delivery format increases support costs which is directly reflected in the significant costs of annual service contracts that are so common in the industry.
We deliver our solutions as Web-based services rather than installed software. We have direct control of the server environment, backups, security and all other infrastructure related to the performance of our software. We have access to our customer implementations for troubleshooting and training. This level of access and control represents a dramatic advantage to our cost structure and client satisfaction.
Our business was built to provide value
Our business model was built around utilizing the latest in technology to limit our costs while delivering exceptional customer service. We’ve implemented a sophisticated online knowledge base that allows our customers to access the latest support information from Foundant staff as well as from peer organizations within our user community 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Importantly, we are very proud of our development efforts to build software solutions based on the right design paradigm. Our goal from day one has been to deliver a solution that our customers can maintain and manage on their own with limited training from Foundant. Users with basic, Microsoft Office-level computer skills can be trained to build Web forms and manage their grant programs. This level of control allows us to scale as an organization in a more controlled manner. We’re excited to be the first vendor to deliver a fully-functional online grant management solution at a price point that foundations of all sizes can afford.