Seagate Software is bringing its free software initiative to SA and says it will distribute 18 000 CDs containing its business intelligence (BI) software locally.
"We will be spending a significant amount of money on this," says country manager Vivek Thomas.
Significant indeed. The company says it has delivered 600 000 free CDs to the desk of IT professionals in the US, and plans to give 350 000 away in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. Each contains a 50-user version of Seagate Info 7 and Seagate Analysis, a single user desktop tool. Analysis is a simple tool that incorporates some of the Seagate Crystal Reports functions.
The objective of the project, named "The Initiative" in the best spy-drama tradition, is to hit the competition where it hurts. "Why 50 users free [for Info 7]?" asks EMEA marketing manager Ham Patel. "Because it is aimed right at the sweet spot of our competition." With some predictions sizing the business intelligence market at $6.2 billion by 2002, the fight could get a lot uglier.
"The Initiative" will grab market share in the short-term, and that will pay off in the medium-term, Patel says. "We want to be number one. Market share is everything." By spreading free CDs like confetti, Seagate wants to place BI on the desk of IT decision-makers, who may not even realise the potential benefits. "People out there don`t know what it can do for them. This will put it on their desktops and take the risk out of decision-making."
Seagate calls its attitude "courageous" or "brave", but believes its products will be an obvious choice once it has been used, and it is betting a lot of money on that. Seagate wants to get clients addicted to its product and then start selling it. "They will want to upgrade eventually. There will be sales for more seats, upgrades and upgrade protections," Patel says.
An advertising campaign that fits right into that image will be launched soon, featuring dogs variously cursing "evil, cream-sucking cats" and digging themselves into compromising positions. "It will be a massive branding campaign alongside a massive marketing campaign," Patel says.
Vendors are surprisingly happy to see their margins being given away. Paul Marketos of Asyst, which has been a Seagate partner for 18 months, says his business will benefit from the programme. "In the long-term we will make more money." He also expects revenue from services surrounding the product, especially training, to more than make up for the loss.
The initiative will end in December.
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