iQuate, the Dublin-based developer of IT auditing and deployment software, has changed the way it sells its products and is now making them available through a subscription pricing model.
The pay-as-you-use software sales model, also known as application service provider (ASP) is not new, but with iQuate’s service the software is not hosted remotely and delivered over the internet. Instead all iQuate software resides on the customer’s machine. The user pays for a specific period of time and the software switches itself off after that date if no payment has been received.
This pricing model now applies to all iQuate products, including iQNetScan auditing software and iQDeploy deployment software. The latter product can install applications on hundreds or even thousands of machines at once, although iQuate recommends that the tool be used to install software in smaller amounts such as 50 PCs at a time. iQDeploy also has a reporting feature that gives administrators full details about the implementation and how it progressed.
The company was formed 18 months ago and was originally called eManageIT. However a US firm already used that name and when the Irish company was eyeing the American market it decided on a name change rather than risk confusing customers.
Much of the demand for iQuate’s asset management product is coming from the US, spurred by the recent Sarbanes-Oxley Act which covers financial reporting and external auditing for companies. The company already has some high-profile customers there, including Kelloggs and the First Bank of Texas.
Closer to home, Ark Life and the law firm Matheson Ormsby Prentice are also clients. In addition to the Irish and US markets, iQuate also plans to sell in the UK and has had customer enquiries from Australia, New Zealand and India.
“The US will probably be our major market,” says chief operations officer Anthony Quigley. However, the company has abandoned its approach of hiring expensive salespeople and is focusing instead on selling via the web. The company also plans to market itself online.
Another revenue option for the Irish software house will be OEM (original equipment manufacturer) deals, where other companies will buy the products in bulk to supply with their own systems. iQuate is currently in discussions with a US company and hopes a deal will be signed shortly.
Quigley said that iQuate is profitable, although he preferred not to reveal revenue figures. The company has received close to €200,000 worth of investment to date and plans to announce further funding within the next few weeks.
By Gordon Smith
