Contact (877) 603-1113 or Email Get our insights in your inbox

HOME > BLOG

Is technology disruption making your pricing strategy obsolete?
Waterstone has recently synthesized its thinking around the recurring inflection points that give technology companies across industries the opportunity to rethink their pricing strategy. In this paper, Waterstone focuses on one of the most significant and difficult to plan for inflection points - technology disruption.  Read the full report: The Impact of Changing Technology on Pricing
Is 2013 the year that the Connected Home finally takes off?
See what our Consumer Tech Services expert believes. Partner Singu Srinivas weighs in on a few of the market factors and leading indicators around Connected Home adoption. Click here to read more... http://techie.com/the-connected-homes-day-has-finally-arrived/
Case Study: New growth and margin opportunities for a leading eDiscovery Service Provider
PRICING STRATEGY Driving new growth and margin opportunities for a leading Electronic Discovery Service Provider. The Issue An E-Discovery Service Provider needed to explore new offerings, given shifting market dynamics from professional services to technology-based solutions.  To defend the existing client base against encroaching competitive technology solutions, and to reach new customer segments, the company wanted to introduce a recurring revenue cloud-based product.  A key concern was to...
Big Data and Pricing perspective featured on Sand Hill
Sand Hill, a leading destination for insights and business strategies for the software and cloud computing ecosystem, featured our recent perspective on Big Data and Pricing. In this paper, Waterstone's Dhaval Moogimane, Hubert Selvanathan, and Apurba Pradhan discuss how Big Data makes value-based pricing possible for SaaS products.   Click here to read more...  http://sandhill.com/article/big-data-and-software-pricing/
CES Highlights the Dawn of the Connected Home
The emergence of the Connected Home has become something akin to the 1990’s Bill Murray movie, ‘Ground Hog Day’. Each year at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, a litany of technology companies announce that it is the year in which the Connected Home has become a reality. In 2011, Verizon announced its intent to become a dominant player in the home monitoring and security market. In 2003, Philips announced that the Connected Home was the centerpiece of a strategy intended to turn around their consume...
Waterstone Partner Singu Srinivas quoted in CIO Magazine
Singu Srinivas, a Partner at Waterstone Management Group, has been quoted in CIO Magazine's recently published "14 Tips for Selling Software and Services Online."  Click here to read the full article.
Waterstone's Singu Srinivas & Neil Jain are published in CFO Magazine on the complexity of collaboration and document storage options for SMBs
Waterstone Partner Singu Srinivas and Principal Neil Jain are published in CFO Magazine discussing the conundrum that small business CFO's face when considering collaboration and document storage options. Featured in the magazine’s Growth Companies and Technology sections, "The Collaboration Conundrum," cites the risk of not using a single, centralized data storage and collaboration platform and the cost associated with resulting data loss or security breach. The article concludes with recommended strat...
TCO Analysis and Pricing Strategy for an Enterprise Telecommunications System Manufacturer
PRICING STRATEGY A telecom equipment manufacturer discovered that some of its offerings were priced up to 60% less than one of its primary competitors, contrary to a common misconception that the client was at a significant price disadvantage. The Issue As part of its due diligence, a telecom equipment manufacturer needed to understand the pricing differences between its own product and support offerings and those of a competitor being evaluated as an acquisition target. A major complicating factor was ...
When Pricing Matters: When Should Tech Companies Focus on Re-thinking Pricing Strategy?
Pricing is a critical determinant of success when a technology company is launching a new product or service offering.  Pricing strategy – what pricing approach to use and what price points to apply – is often one of the most difficult aspects of launching a new offering or product extension.   Externally, pricing attaches a value to the offering and strongly influences customer receptivity and purchase behavior.  Internally, pricing can have a significant impact on your bottom line,...
Next Generation Customer Insight Development Challenges and Opportunities
“Normal is changing …. Again” – Amazon.com As the technology sector moves into 2013, across nearly all product, solution, and services categories, companies continue to face increased competition, more sophisticated and digitally connected customers, and global markets that exhibit fundamentally unique buyer dynamics.  At the same time, there is a proliferation of customer-centric information – leading to a number of big data challenges (e.g., how to turn data into insight, people/talent gaps, orga...
Five Integration Imperatives that will Make or Break a Software M&A Transaction
As investment demand for software companies increases, software executives are faced with a set of unique integration opportunities and challenges specific to software M&A. In this article, Waterstone introduces five critical integration imperatives that can make the difference between a value-creating software merger and a failed transaction.  Read the full white paper
Waterstone Partner Singu Srinivas sits down with Middle Market Executive to discuss middle market cloud adoption
Waterstone Partner Singu Srinivas sat down with Middle Market Executive to share his thoughts on the middle-market dynamics that govern the adoption of cloud applications. Read the full interview here .
Watersone's Dhaval Moogimane and Ken Ewell pen "Five Jobs for the Cloud Provider CFO" for CFO Magazine
Waterstone Partners Dhaval Moogimane and Ken Ewell have laid out five critical business model concerns every technology CFO must focus on in order to profitably deliver their product as a cloud service. Read the full article, "Five Jobs for the Cloud Provider CFO," at CFO Magazine here .
Support.com References Waterstone's Analysis on the SMB Tech Services Opportunity
Waterstone’s analysis on the market opportunity for tech services aimed at small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) was cited by Support.com, a leading provider of tech services solutions.  Read the full blog entry “The Emergence of the SMB IT Market For National Technology Brands” here
Waterstone's Ken Ewell Discusses Product Launch Strategy and iPhone5 on ITWorld
Waterstone Partner, Ken Ewell, discusses product launch strategy and explains why Apple's success is driven as much by their launch process as it is by the "cool factor" of products like the iPhone5. Read the full article on ITWorld,  here . 
VIDEO: Key success factors in launching and scaling new offerings
Based on the firm's experience, Ken Ewell, a Partner at Waterstone, outlines key success factors for launching and scaling new products and services. He also shares some perspective on how Waterstone has helped clients accelerate time to revenue by applying rigorous analytics and proven methodologies to the offering launch process. Click here to learn how Waterstone has helped other tech companies bring new offers to market.
SMB Tech Services Market Update: Recent Best Buy Moves Signaling Shift in Tech Services Business Model
SMB Tech Services Market Update: " Recent Best Buy Moves Signaling Shift in Tech Services Business Model " Waterstone shares its point of view on what recent moves by Big Box retailer and tech services giant Best Buy mean for the SMB tech services market. Contact WMG Partner Singu Srinivas for more information, or visit our SMB Tech Services Insights page for more detailed information on the industry.
Developed Partner Assessment Framework and Growth Strategy in Key Emerging Payment Segment
PARTNER ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK & GROWTH STRATEGY A global player within the emerging payments market needed to better understand strategic partner requirements and growth drivers. Waterstone developed a partner assessment and prioritization framework to identify targeted value creation opportunities. The Issue Our client was looking to strengthen its competitive position and identify growth opportunities within the fast moving emerging payments market. Waterstone partnered with senior product, sales, ...
Waterstone Answers ITWorld Question: "How Can Businesses Separate the Hype About the Cloud from the Reality?"
Waterstone Partner Ken Ewell tackles a question about the cloud on ITWorld  - "How Can Businesses Separate the Hype Around the Cloud from the Reality?" As companies make this transition, they need to consider the following critical success factors:   Remake the Product Portfolio in the Eyes of Your Customers with the Move to Cloud Consumer experience is heavily influencing enterprise technology adoption. As consumer expectations for the Cloud carry over into enterprise, elements such as ease o...
White Paper: The Enterprise Services Imperative - The Importance of Services to the Health of Technology Firms
Waterstone has recently synthesized its thinking around the importance of Enterprise Services - particularly professional services and managed services - as a key component of the growth and overall health of Technology companies. Technology executives may be drawn to the latest trends, such as cloud and big data, and ignore Enterprise Services to the detriment of their companies' long-term health. The following report providers insights into how an improved Enterprise Services capability provides the f...
VIDEO: Key trends within the Payments industry and the evolution to Connected Commerce
Scott Haug, West Coast Managing Partner, discusses observations regarding key trends within the payments industry, the evolution towards "connected commerce," and how Waterstone collaborates with clients to evaluate and prioritize value creation opportunities.
3 Ways small business CFOs can cut technology costs
Singu Srinivas, a Partner at Waterstone Management Group, penned a recent article for CFO. Featured in the magazine’s Growth Companies section, "Three Ways Small Business CFOs Can Reduce IT Costs ," discusses the challenges small businesses are facing due to the increasing complexity and cost of managing their technology environments. The article identifies key trends within the tech services space and recommends potential levers CFOs can use to reduce technology spend. The small business customer incre...
Waterstone and Parks Associates to hold VIP session at CONNECTIONS at TIA
Dallas, Tex., May 10, 2012 — Parks Associates research indicates cloud-based solutions will greatly expand the service market for U.S. small and medium businesses (SMBs), where currently only 21% use offsite data backup, 16% have used technical support, and 9% use virtual server solutions. Parks Associates and Waterstone Management Consulting will address market growth, new business models in SMB managed services, and the impact of the cloud during a special networking event, "SMB Cloud Services: New Re...
Driving new growth opportunities for a global provider of reservation and business solutions for hotels
PRICING STRATEGY A global provider of reservation software, marketing solutions, and Business Intelligence data to the hospitality industry was looking to drive revenue growth in the midst of shifting market dynamics and significant competitive pricing pressure. Partnering with Waterstone, the client launched a new pricing approach that will allow the company to compete more effectively in the marketplace. The Issue A leading provider of reservation software, marketing solutions, and BI data to the hosp...
Portfolio Transformation for Global Provider of Hardware, Software, and Services
PORTFOLIO TRANSFORMATION A large, diversified provider of hardware, software, and services wanted to establish greater consistency and standardization across its portfolio of Infrastructure Technology Outsourcing Services. Waterstone developed a framework that is now being deployed across the business unit, to transform existing offerings and as standard practice for introducing new offers. The Issue The services business unit was experiencing a number of external and internal challenges with implicatio...
Technology Companies Exploring Onshore Resourcing Strategies
In his recent Harvard Business Review Article, “Choosing the United States,” HBS professor Michael Porter argues that changing market dynamics such as rapidly rising wages in emerging economies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, and shortened product lifecycles are making nearshoring more attractive. Porter asserts that corporate executives have made sub-optimal location decisions because they fail to recognize the hidden costs associated with offshoring (e.g. attrition, loss of intellectual...
VIDEO: Business Models for technology and services companies dealing with the cloud
Waterstone Partners Dhaval Moogimane and Eric Pelander discuss business models for technology and services companies that are embracing the cloud. Click here for more of Waterstone's perspectives on the cloud.
VIDEO: Mark Hauser & Eric Pelander share their views on key challenges for tech companies
Waterstone's Mark Hauser and Eric Pelander step back to share their perspective on key dynamics amongst technology-led businesess.  Both Partners also discuss how Waterstone is uniquely positioned to help management teams address these dynamics head on through strategy and execution. Click here to watch the discussion.
VIDEO: Watch Singu Srinivas discuss opportunities in SMB and Consumer tech services
Partner Singu Srinivas discusses new business opportunities for large tech providers. Enterprise-grade technologies have entered the home, and the need to seamlessly connect and service all of our devices presents an oppountity which Waterstone has helped our customers turn into revenue. Increasing signs point to additional market momentum: Small IT Market Attracts Big Companies - Wall Street Journal Every Household Needs Its Own IT Guru - Boston Globe Waterstone weighs in on bringing cloud to small busi...
Post-Merger Integration for a Scientific Instruments Company
POST-MERGER INTEGRATION Post-merger integration strategy and execution for a scientific instruments company. Partnering with Waterstone, the software business unit successfully executed a post-merger integration, driving a win-win outcome for customers, employees, and shareholders. The Issue A scientific instruments manufacturer had announced the acquisition of a competitor. The software division of the acquiring company engaged Waterstone to assist in the integration of the acquired entity’s software...
Services Roadmap for Workforce Optimization Software Vendor
WORKFORCE OPTIMIZATION SOFTWARE VENDOR Driving Professional Services margin improvement for an enterprise software company. Partnering with Waterstone, the company implemented several core PS process and structural initiatives and drove over 14 points of contribution margin improvement. The Issue An enterprise software company’s Professional Services margins were underperforming as a result of several operational issues. The company’s PS business was experiencing low margins resulting from low billa...
Waterstone client Kronos Inc. presents their cloud services growth story at Technology Services World Conference
At the Technology Services Industry Association‘s annual Technology Services World conference (TSW), Kronos® Incorporated director of cloud services Andrew Manos presented a case study on how to successfully grow and develop a cloud services line of business. With changes in the technology landscape and the growing trend of cloud computing models, customers have new expectations and requirements of their software solutions. The changes make it necessary for organizations to reevaluate their service strat...
Waterstone Management Group announces Partner and Principal additions
Waterstone is delighted to announce the strengthening of its advisory business with the promotion of Dhaval Moogimane to Partner based in the San Francisco area. Over the past three years, Dhaval has made significant contributions to the growth of the firm as a Principal - managing strategic client relationships, growing our west coast presence, and delivering outstanding client value. Dhaval brings over 16 years of experience at the intersection of business and technology, where he has helped tech compa...
Helped Launch New Cloud-Based SW Product for e-Discovery
E-DISCOVERY SW PRODUCT LAUNCH Driving new growth and margin opportunities for a leading Electronic Discovery Service Provider. Partnering with Waterstone, the company has successfully launched a cloud-based E-Discovery software product. The Issue An E-Discovery Service Provider needed to explore new offerings, given market dynamics shifting from professional services to technology-based solutions. The company wanted to introduce a recurring revenue SaaS product, but their existing business model was opt...
Helped SW Company Launch Cloud Services
CLOUD SERVICES STRATEGY & LAUNCH Driving a growth platform for an enterprise software company. Partnering with Waterstone, the company has successfully launched their cloud services business which has doubled in revenue in two years. The Issue An enterprise software company wanted to explore new growth options, given an operating environment in which market dynamics were shifting. The company wanted to introduce a recurring revenue, cloud offering, but their existing business model was optimized for...
Executed Customer Insight & Action Planning Program for Payments Provider
CUSTOMER-DRIVEN INSIGHT A payments company facing rapidly changing market dynamics needed better partner insight to support country, account, and product strategy development. Partnering with Waterstone, the company executed an innovative global customer feedback program and enhanced action planning across key accounts, products, and countries. The Issue A leading payments company managing hundreds of partner relationships around the world faced increasing competition, rapidly evolving market dynamics, ...
Developed and Executed Integration Program For Two HW Manufacturers
POST MERGER INTEGRATION Two electrical components manufacturers merge in order to realize greater growth and cost saving synergies. Partnering with Waterstone, the companies were able to execute the merger, gain credibility with large customers, and realize their synergy targets. The Issue Two electrical components manufacturers merge under the hypotheses that the combined company would benefit from cross-sell opportunities, SG&A savings, and increased credibility among large customers. They needed ...
Market Due Diligence for a Mid-market Private Equity Firm
MARKET AND CUSTOMER DUE DILIGENCE A Private Equity firm needed to complete market and customer due diligence before buying an eCommerce solution provider. Partnering with Waterstone, they conducted a rapid analysis to develop a perspective around customer satisfaction, market trends, and growth opportunities. The Issue A mid-market private equity firm with $2B under management was considering the acquisition of an eCommerce solution provider to software developers. As part of their due diligence, the PE...
Identified Adjacent Growth Opportunity For Global Security SW Company
SECURITY SW CASE STUDY A global security applications company sought to identify and prioritize growth opportunities in adjacent markets. Partnering with Waterstone, the company filtered and prioritized new growth plays in an emerging and fast evolving market space. The Issue The board of a global security software company wanted to explore growth opportunities in adjacent markets. Given the client’s unique position in the consumer space, it believed it could bring substantial assets to bear (establis...
Launched New Service For Leading Cable Company
CABLECO CASE STUDY A top 5 cable company sought new revenue streams through the launch of new services to its residential subscriber base. Partnering with Waterstone, the company has successfully launched a personal tech services business and generated 100,000 subscribers in 6 months. The Issue A national, top 5 cable company recognized its triple play (video, data & access) services were maturing and wanted to explore new product lines and add-on services. The company wanted to capture more of the ...
Launched New Offering for Broadcasting Hardware Provider
BROADCASTING HARDWARE PROVIDER A broadcasting hardware provider needed to launch a services offering. Partnering with Waterstone, the company successfully launched a services program, built a backlog equaling 5% of total revenue in less than a year and is projecting to triple in 3 years. The Issue A hardware provider for the broadcasting industry had little services revenue. The majority of services were given away with the initial sale and were therefore having a negative impact on the company’s over...
Services Transformation for Enterprise Communication Systems Manufacturer
ENTERPRISE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS Engaged for over two years to help drive initiatives in the client's services business unit, ranging from developing and implementing a new organizational structure, to evaluating TCO for an acquisition target, to putting in place a strategic roadmap to address industry-wide and internal dynamics. Partnering with Waterstone, the management team is transforming its Services unit, improving gross margins by 10 percentage points in the first 18 months. The Issue A communic...
Growth Strategy for High-end Technical Staffing Company
HIGH-END TECHNICAL STAFFING FIRM Breaking the $1 Billion Barrier. A NASDAQ-listed firm in the professional high-end of the staffing industry (healthcare, IT, engineering) worked with Waterstone to develop a set of growth strategies to reach $1B revenue over the next 3-4 years. The Issue Our client was emerging from the recent downturn, and needed to aggressively ramp up growth efforts to capitalize on emerging recovery. The core business presented multiple challenges: 1. The staffing industry had experi...
Business and Market Diligence for a Mid-Market Private Equity firm
BUSINESS & MARKET DILIGENCE Business and market diligence for a mid-market private equity firm's planned acquisition of a provider of BPO services to state governments. Through partnering with Waterstone, the firm was able to identify key levers for growth, which led to a follow-up project during which Waterstone developed a strategy to increase revenues by +50% over what was planned during the acquisition, and double the company's valuation within 5 years. The Issue A mid-market private equity firm...
Growth Strategy for Commercial Data Services Provider
DATA PROVIDER GROWTH STRATEGY Driving new growth and margin opportunities for a leading Electronic Discovery Service Provider. Partnering with Waterstone, the company has successfully launched a cloud-based E-Discovery software product. The Issue A Global data services company focused on providing commercial information, and insight on businesses was experiencing flat Y/Y growth in their core risk management business, which contributed 50% of their total revenue. Client engaged Waterstone to identify sc...
Helped assess growth opportunities across the emerging payments and connected commerce ecosystem
CONNECTED COMMERCE ECOSYSTEM A global technology provider wanted to explore growth opportunities across the emerging payments and “connected commerce” ecosystem. Waterstone developed a global market assessment and prioritization framework that was applied across seven countries to inform solution development and go-to-market strategy. The Issue A global technology and services company whose core business was becoming increasingly commoditized, recognized the need to explore new, non-traditional mark...
Prioritized Market Opportunities and Alliance Strategy for Communications HW Company
COMMUNICATIONS HW & SERVICES A major technology and services provider needed to refine its solutions and alliance strategy to more effectively pursue emerging global opportunities. Partnering with Waterstone, prioritized solutions and profiled markets relative to unique country dynamics, entry considerations, and alliance strategy implications. The Issue A global technology and services company whose core business was becoming increasingly commoditized, faced rapidly evolving market dynamics and rec...
New findings around the micro-SMB market for technology services
Waterstone recently completed a series of interviews with Executives across a range of companies that provide technology to micro-SMBs or mSMBs (small businesses with less than 25 employees) today, including office product retailers, telcos / ISPs, Cable MSOs, SaaS software and other service providers (mSMB technology players). The following report summarizes the findings from these interviews and provides insights into the market opportunity for tech services for mSMB technology players. Read the full r...
Waterstone's Eric Pelander sits down with Consulting Magazine to talk about the firm and the market
Waterstone's Eric Pelander recently sat down with Consulting Magazine in a one-on-one interview to talk about key trends in the market, the firm, and our "bias towards action".
Strategy and Execution: Living up to the promise
One of Waterstone’s key tenets is that we focus on strategy and execution , measuring ourselves by the impact that our work delivers.  A couple of recent articles in Consulting Magazine highlight how two of our Partners are living up to that promise, either at work or in their personal lives.  Both of the following articles provide different examples of the type of value our Partners have created, ranging from large M&A transactions to launching and managing an educational center for autist...
On-Demand Service Models
As traditional license revenue growth slows, software companies need to explore new avenues for growth. This document provides our perspective on the different recurring services and on-demand models and the different operating capabilities needed to execute these models.  Read the full document  On-Demand Service Models
Growing Maintenance Value through Automation
Maintenance is a significant contributor to a technology company’s revenue and profitability, but is under attack from customers and alternative providers. This document highlights actions companies can take to reduce maintenance delivery cost and strengthen relationships with customers. Read the full whitepaper Growing Maintenance Value through Automation
Maximizing Value From Maintenance
This document highlights actions companies can take to maximize value from their maintenance streams by taking a hard look a the following three questions:  1. Am I managing maintenance as a business? Do I have granular visibility into its performance? 2. Am I exploiting all relevant revenue and cost levers to maximize maintenance value? 3. How can I use maintenance as a lever to enhance long-term customer satisfaction? Read the full white paper Maximizing Value From Maintenance
Playing Offense in a Downturn
In light of the distressed state of the economy as we enter 2009, this document presents our perspective on how to manage a technology-led business in the face of such challenges through a “checklist” of actions that we recommend Boards and CEOs consider in these difficult times. Read the full document  On-Demand Service Models