For businesses seeking SaaS Solutions, OTRS recommends working directly with the product manufacturer to stay safe
Cupertino, September 24, 2019 – Grey market suppliers are not a new phenomenon. The booming SaaS industry is creating space for more and more suppliers to sell software illegally. Customers are not always aware of the disadvantages when purchasing these. Especially when it comes to software, direct cooperation with the manufacturer offers more security. OTRS Group shares the following advantages that come from direct cooperation with the software manufacturer:
Security – especially with regard to a cloud solution
Cloud computing is on the rise. According to Bitkom, two out of three companies already use software in the cloud. Direct cooperation with the manufacturer enables security gaps to be closed immediately. All updates and patches are delivered immediately and are handled by the service provider. This minimizes the risk of data loss.
Advice and information on the fastest way
Software customers need fast and uncomplicated advice in some situations. When working with the manufacturer, customers have direct support. Problem solving takes place promptly and bilaterally – with support from a professional experienced team. Grey market providers don’t have this type of access to the manufacturer or level of product expertise.
Transparency in product processes
In communication with the manufacturer – be it through personal conversation or a newsletter – customers receive important product development information. When is the next launch planned? What new features will there be? How will the price of the software change? How can they best take advantage of the software and gain more value from it? Customers get all this first-hand information from the manufacturer.
Influence
Manufacturers take customer feedback very seriously and develop product updates based on it. If customers have a new idea or find that the software lacks an important feature, they can submit thoughts directly to the manufacturer and be sure that their vote counts, that the idea will be evaluated and it may possibly be implemented.
“Recent examples such as British Airways or Equifax, which have to pay high fines for data breaches, show how explosive the issue of security is at present”, ,” says Christopher Kuhn, COO of OTRS Group. “From our own experience, we know that solutions from gray market vendors may seem cheaper at first glance, but can become much more expensive due to data loss, possible fines, upgrade issues and more. It can even come to the point that companies risk their business if they rely on grey market providers.”
Read about real OTRS Group customers who have struggled to protect their data after having worked with grey market providers. And, on our blog you will find more information about the grey market.
About OTRS Group
OTRS Group is the manufacturer and the world’s largest provider of the service management suite OTRS, awarded with the SERVIEW CERTIFIED TOOL seal of approval. It offers flexible solutions for process and communication management to companies of all sizes, saving them time and money. Among its customers are Lufthansa, Airbus, IBM, Porsche, Siemens, BSI (Federal Office for Security in Information Technology), Max Planck Institute, Toyota, Hapag Lloyd and Banco do Brazil (Bank of Brazil). More than 170,000 companies worldwide use OTRS, including over 40 percent of the DAX 30 companies. OTRS is available in 40 languages. The company consists of OTRS AG and its six subsidiaries OTRS Inc. (USA), OTRS S.A. de C.V. (Mexico), OTRS Asia Pte. Ltd. (Singapore), OTRS Asia Ltd. (Hong Kong), OTRS do Brasil Soluções Ltda. (Brazil) and OTRS Magyarország Kft. (Hungary). OTRS AG is listed on the basic board of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. For more information, see www.otrs.com.