Be prepared to take the next technological step when the time is right

By Dan Parker

The technological ecosystem is an evolutionary progression, evidenced by the list of fallen companies that were unwilling or unable to effectively adapt their solutions to an ever-changing competitive landscape.

This does not assume that every tech company failure was due to lack of innovation or disregarding Darwin’s fundamental principles. It does, however, point to miscalculated consumer demand, underestimated competitive adversaries, or ill-timed product releases.

Notable examples of such product failures include Windows Vista, Apple Newton, laser discs, New Coke, and Betamax. In the same respect, disruptive innovations such as Redbox and Netflix have been able to uproot industry giants including Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. It all comes down to the right product in the right place at the right time.

Blockbuster’s Chief Executive Jim Keyes alluded to loss of market share to Redbox and Netflix but refused to acknowledge the significance in a 2008 The Motley Fool interview: “Neither Redbox nor Netflix are even on the radar screen in terms of competition… It’s more Walmart and Apple.”

Just two years later, Bloomberg reported: “Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in September with 5,600 stores, including 3,300 in the U.S., saying sales fell in recent years while rival Netflix grew by renting movies online and through the mail, and Coinstar Inc. put Redbox DVD vending machines in supermarkets and drugstores.”

Cloud computing has been no different. The cloud concept was introduced in 1961 when John McCarthy unveiled “timesharing” as a way for users to share computer resources among many clients. This concept recently culminated in the widespread use of servers and eventually the birth of the cloud.

The path to cloud computing is an evolutionary branch in and of itself. Each successive technological advancement—from 8-inch floppy disks to the cloud—has seen industry leaders crushed, while the same climate has fostered apt innovators that have risen to the evolutionary challenge. Just as Darwin would have predicted, they have been rewarded for their ability to adapt and overcome with survival, but only until the next technological disruption occurs.

Piracle, the developers of Piracle Pay Service (PPS), has been able to successfully navigate the move into the cloud, building on its experience. Piracle’s solution began with a DOS (Disc Operating System) version of its check printing and electronic ACH, EFT, and wire payment management software in 1991. As DOS approached its inevitable demise, Create-A-Check was built for the Windows operating system, following the natural progression of computer technology.

Organizations changed the way they do business to allow for increased interoffice accessibility to data. Piracle then modified its software from an initial Windows version on a single computer to a client-server application. This gave users improved access to payment management tools from any network-connected computer. The next logical step was migration to the cloud. In 2011, Piracle developed a hybrid approach to cloud computing, enabling NetSuite to generate data files that could then be processed within Create-A-Check to make payments. Although this was a temporary solution for NetSuite integration, a completely cloud-based resolution was already in the works.

NetSuite is the benchmark example of enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions in the cloud. That is why Piracle was interested in developing its flagship cloud-based solution within the architecture of a proven and stable ERP solution.

Lynn Shimada, Piracle co-founder and current corporate vice president, explains Piracle’s efforts to move the legacy software into the cloud. “In order to stay relevant, we developed our Software as a Service (SaaS) solution, giving our customers complete access to their payment needs from any computer or mobile device with Internet connectivity. Our development team put a lot of effort into creating seamless NetSuite integration so the customer would use our solution in the same way they are currently using NetSuite.”

Because payment information is extremely sensitive, this transition was not something Piracle approached lightly. John Bechard, Piracle’s president and CEO, remarks, “If we had attempted to launch PPS into the cloud before a safe infrastructure existed, we would have ended up like the other companies that simply moved too fast and failed. We are now confident that a structurally sound foundation has been established, which allows us to offer a safe and secure way for our customers to effectively manage their payments.”

Early on, Piracle identified the following similarities they had seen in successful SaaS companies.

1. Proof of Concept

2. Ability to Leverage Existing Infrastructure

3. Scalability

4. Use Agile Development

5. Service, Service, Service

Proof of Concept
Piracle’s initial DOS offering of Create-A-Check was the legacy application that evolved into the current PPS product. This initial offering was launched more than 20 years ago and was made to integrate with most standard and custom accounting interfaces. Piracle continues to receive customer feedback about the Create-A-Check product and used this product and industry knowledge to drive the development of the PPS solution.

Ability to Leverage Existing Infrastructure
This is important because it is increasingly difficult to develop a new product while simultaneously building a scalable infrastructure to support a growing customer base that will inevitably require personalized attention. In this way, Piracle was positioned well because the current infrastructure already supports a customer base of more than 5,000 payment management software clients.

Scalability
Piracle’s overall development goal was to adhere to the rigorous “Built for NetSuite” guidelines. This ensured that the solution was a robust application that would reliably scale as Piracle and NetSuite rolled out new versions of their service to progress with their customers. Ultimately, Piracle verified Piracle Pay Service’s compliance with “Built for NetSuite” and launched PPS at the same time “Built for NetSuite” was publically announced at SuiteWorld 2013.

Use Agile Development
Agile is commonly referred to in the context of organizations reacting quickly to a rapidly changing environment. In the development world, agile is an iterative strategy that utilizes cross-functional teams to drive the development of software solutions. Teams traditionally comprise marketing, sales, development, technical support, and operations, ensuring a holistic approach to solution development.

From this, the core offering is designed, tested, and released. Future enhancements are driven by customer need and developed using an iterative approach that releases incremental updates instead of larger version releases. Agile methodology is at the core of what Piracle does, so it was easy to leverage its experience in previous projects to direct the development of the PPS solution.

Service
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are where we commonly see SaaS companies fall short. Many do not fully appreciate that the other S in SaaS is for service. Not surprisingly, customers expect to be able to access their software at anytime.

Piracle has executed a comprehensive plan to combat downtime by implementing redundancy measures where appropriate. Along with this, they have created a disaster recovery plan to prevent the service from being interrupted by a catastrophic event.

Customers also expect that the SaaS offering they purchase will evolve over time. They need a solution for what they do today and for what their business will do 10 years from today. Since the initial launch in May 2013, there have already been several enhancements circulated to the current customer base. This new functionality was designed for specific customers, but can now be utilized by Piracle’s entire customer base.

Surely, the cloud is not the final frontier for software, but it is a significant step. Tech companies that can play in this space will significantly increase their probability for being successful with the next evolutionary step. NetSuite’s recent success is directly related to how well it has managed the SaaS ERP offering. Innovation can certainly create an opportunity, but the factors outlined above will determine the success of that innovation. This has proven especially true in the cloud.

Please visit www.Piracle.com/NetSuite for more information on how to streamline your accounts payable tasks by automating your check printing and electronic ACH, EFT, and wire payment processes.

About Author

Dan Parker is the current marketing director at Piracle, a software development company that has recently moved its on-site application into the SaaS environment. Piracle has been working to streamline the payment process for more than 20 years, and has doubled its NetSuite customer base in the last two months with its cloud application.

The statement and opinions contained herein are those of Piracle and not of NetSuite. NetSuite has not verified any statements or claims herein and assumes no responsibility for such statements or claims.