Optimal versioning strategy of enterprise software considering the customer cost-acceptance level

PurposeThe emergence of the Software-as-a-service (SaaS) licensing model dramatically changes how enterprise software is released. Especially, it is favored by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) because of the cost-friendly feature. In contrast, many large enterprises (LEs) own relatively abundant budgets and prefer the on-premise software to fulfill demands through customization. Considering the differentiated cost-acceptance level among customers, this study aims to address the versioning problem of the enterprise software faced by software firms.Design/methodology/approachA two-point distribution model is formulated to calculate the maximal profits software firm earned from both LEs and SMEs under three strategies (On-premise, SaaS and Hybrid). Then through profit comparison, this paper obtains the optimal versioning strategy and corresponding feasible conditions. Finally, the optimal solutions are derived concerning social welfare.FindingsA significant finding is that moving to SaaS becomes necessary for the software firms in product releases since the on-premise strategy will not be optimal. Based on this, this paper discovers that when LEs own a cost-acceptance level close to that of SMEs, the hybrid strategy is the only optimal choice. When LEs become less sensitive to costs, the hybrid strategy is suggested if the customization cost falls below the threshold. Otherwise, the SaaS strategy becomes the optimal option. The conclusions explain why some software vendors transit to “cloud companies” thoroughly and provide practical insights for software firms’ future decisions.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first information economics study to consider consumer cost sensitivity in discussing enterprise software versioning. The differentiated cost-acceptance level is introduced to describe the customer utilities, and the results uncover the necessity of moving to SaaS under diversified customer composition. This work provides significant theoretical value and practical insights.

Intellectual capital and firm efficiency of US multinational software firms

PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the impact of intellectual capital efficiency on US multinational software companies' performance from 2012 to 2016 by applying data envelopment analysis (DEA).Design/methodology/approachIt adopts a new slacks-based measure (SBM) to obtain a more accurate performance estimation and rank between companies. Regression analysis is used to test the overall IC and each of its elements (Human Capital, Innovation Capital, Process Capital and Customer Capital).FindingsThe univariate result shows that multinational companies are more efficient than non-multinational companies. However, the regression result shows that multinationality can hardly explain the firm efficiency of software firms. Another interesting finding is that intellectual capital has a positive and significant impact on software firm performance in the US human capital influences firm efficiency directly. However, when human capital is combined with the other elements of IC, the contribution of human capital becomes less significant. This is because people may think that innovation capital, process capital and customer capital can replace human capital, but it is not. In short, human capital may affect firm efficiency through other elements of IC (innovation capital, process capital and customer capital) as it is the base of other elements.Research limitations/implicationsThe results show that multinational companies have higher efficiency scores than non-multinational companies. In addition, Intellectual capital has a positive and significant impact on software firm performance in the US human capital influences firm efficiency directly. However, when human capital is combined with the other elements of IC, the contribution of human capital becomes less significant. This is because people may think that innovation capital, process capital and customer capital can replace human capital, but it is not. In short, human capital may affect firm efficiency through other elements of IC (innovation capital, process capital and customer capital) as it is the base of other elements.Practical implicationsOverall, the study highlights the needs of having intellectual capital and its elements (Human Capital, Innovation Capital, Process Capital and Customer Capital) to increase firm efficiency.Originality/valueFirst, the authors use a more comprehensive elements of IC, which are human capital, innovation capital, process capital and customer capital for a better IC measurement. Second, this study makes the first attempt using the DSBM model via DEA to examine the operating efficiency of US multinational software firms.

Study of Indian IT workers shows reverse monitoring and job crafting improve work engagement, leading to improved performance

Purpose The purpose was to explore the role of work engagement in mediating between the resources of reverse mentoring and job crafting and the potential outcomes of improved performance and work withdrawal behavior Design/methodology/approach The authors investigated the subjects in the Indian IT sector. They administered a survey online to volunteers from 14 software firms. They received 369 completed questionnaires. The majority of respondents were aged between 25 and 34 and 73.7pc were men. Findings Results showed that both reverse monitoring and job crafting increase levels of work engagement, leading to improved performance and less work withdrawal behavior. The study also looked at work engagement as a mediating factor: It partially mediated the relationship between job crafting and both outcomes, fully mediated the relationship between reverse mentoring and withdrawal behavior, and partially mediated the relationship between reverse monitoring and work performance. Originality/value The results have practical implications. Organizations need to take note that reverse monitoring and job crafting could motivate employees to reciprocate in kind with higher levels of work engagement. By fostering opportunities for reverse monitoring, organizations could stimulate learning and connections across management levels and age groups. Meanwhile, job crafting would help employees to focus on their strengths, or areas of interest, making their work more enjoyable and productive.

Utilizing Virtual Crowd for Global Software Development

Software firms are interested in outsourcing and developing of software globally to the virtual crowd for minimizing the product cost and for increasing the software quality. Developments in information technology (IT) have changed the organizational working environment from centralized to disperse development working practices. As a result, companies have recognized the value of virtual world networks that offer benefits such as efficient time management, lower cost of growth, reduced travel costs, and access to larger competent team members to select the right skilled individual. With the wide spread of Web 3.0 applications and improvements in cloud computation technologies, multinational, multiskilled, and diverse crowds carry out the software developmental process. The aim of this research is to select the effective virtual crowd for the development of quality software. The proposed “characteristic-based virtual crowd selection (CBVCS)” method will select the crowd according to their unique characteristics such as their skills, experiences, expertise, and knowledge.

Ransomware Detection System and Analysis Using Latest Tool

Today ransomware has a serious threat to the online world. Most of the software firms, universities, companies, and organizations in the world are trying to take alert decisions to save from ransomware attacks. A joint statement was issued by both governments of the United States and about ransomware attacks insistence users to stay alert and take precautions. Recently on May 19th, 2017, the Swiss government observed the Ransomware Info Day, to spread awareness regarding ransomware and its effects. Ransomware in India as well is on the rise. Ransomware is a combination of two words, ransomware and software. In other words, ransomware makes it really hard for users to access all files and data in a computer because it hacks the data and do not allow the users to access the files unless they pay ransom to the hacker. Dr. Joseph Popp is the first person to develop ransomware. Ransomware is known as a global epidemic that attacks all types of organizations using computing infrastructure. Ransomware has undergone various evolutions. Preventive measures are needed in order to avoid losses especially in business. The purpose of this study is to examine the evolution of ransomware and preventions against it.

Study of Indian IT companies shows value of increasing both learning agility to reduce turnover intentions

Purpose The motivation behind the research was the necessity to innovate. Today’s companies require “learning agile” employees who constantly update their skills. To stay competitive, they have to retain the most capable individuals. For this reason, the authors wanted to investigate the link between LA, LC and TI of employees and they chose the dynamic Indian IT industry where turnover is a major issue for many companies. Design/methodology/approach The authors selected 10 different software firms in India and used Google forms to design a questionnaire. They distributed it through LinkedIn, Messenger and email. From the 258 valid responses, 62.8pc were male and 46.8pc were aged between 20 and 30. Only 18pc of the responses came from employees aged over 40. The respondents were mainly programmers (47pc), but there were also senior software engineers (25.8pc), project managers (14pc) and business analysts (13.2pc). Findings The results showed no direct effect of learning culture on turnover intentions. But the responses indicated a strong impact of learning agility on turnover intentions. Meanwhile, there was a big influence of learning culture on learning agility. Originality/value In conclusion, the authors said the results highlighted how when employees have higher LA, they tend to have stronger involvement in their work, reducing their turnover intentions. The research also showed how learning culture is an important antecedent of learning agility.

Factors Affecting Fault Tolerance during Load Balancing in Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is built upon the advancement of virtualization and distributed computing to support cost-efficient usage of computing resources and to provide on demand services. After methodical analysis on various factors affecting fault tolerance during load balancing is performed and it is concluded that the factors influencing fault tolerance in load balancing are cloud security, adaptability etc. in comparatively more software firms. In this paper, we have created a model for various IT industries for checking the fault tolerance during Load balancing. An exploration is done with the help of some renowned IT farms and industries in South India. This work consists of 20 hypotheses which may affect the fault tolerance during load balancing in South India. It is verified by using potential statistical analysis tool i.e. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS).

Do online reviews have different effects on consumers’ sampling behaviour across product types? Evidence from the software industry

Previous research shows that online reviews may have different effects for search goods and experience goods. However, as a typical type of experience goods, software can be further divided into different categories based on product characteristics. Little research has been conducted regarding the different effects of online reviews for different types of software. Furthermore, to offer free samples is another common practice of software firms to alleviate consumer uncertainty prior to purchase. To fill the corresponding research gap, this research focuses on the interaction effects between online reviews and free samples for different types of software. Through our empirical analysis, we find that user ratings significantly increase consumers’ sample downloads. Furthermore, consumers download more samples for some categories than for others. Finally, user and editor ratings might have differential effects for different types of software.

Measuring software reliability under the influence of an infected patch

Patching service provides software firms an option to deal with the leftover bugs and is thereby helping them to keep a track of their product. More and more software firms are making use of this concept of prolonged testing. But this framework of releasing unprepared software in market involves a huge risk. The hastiness of vendors in releasing software patch at times can be dangerous as there are chances that firms release an infected patch. The infected patch (es) might lead to a hike in bug occurrence and error count and might make the software more vulnerable. The current work presents an understanding of such situation through mathematical modeling framework; wherein, the distinct behavior of testers (during in-house testing and field testing) and users is described. The proposed model has been validated on two software failure data sets of Tandem Computers and Brazilian Electronic Switching System, TROPICO R-1500.