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Ann Rockley

DocZone introduces radical pay-per-minute plan

18-Sep-2007

Tags: Component Content Management, Selecting Technology, XML, DocZone

DocZone.com, provider of the first SaaS-based content component management system, has introduced another novelty: pricing based on payment per minute.

This type of payment plan is not unusual for the mobile phone industry, but is certainly radical for the SaaS space. Enterprises typically turn to a SaaS provider for two reasons: they don't want to or don't have the resources to support the technology, or they don't want to tie up funds to purchase the technology -- they'd rather pay for it over time.

DocZone's "Pay-Per-Minute" service is certainly focused on the issue of costs. Customers can buy a block of minutes for a fixed price per minute, with larger blocks receiving discounted rates. Rates range from 39 cents/minute for 2,500 shared minutes a month to 24 cents/minute for 50,000 shared minutes a month. There is no limit on the number of users that can share the minutes.

At first glance, this new pricing scheme sounds expensive. After all, haven't we all at some point experienced outsized mobile phone bills until we found a better plan or controlled usage? However, looking at it from the perspective of a small business with, say, six users, the numbers could become enticing:

• A Traditional/Classic plan would cost $695/user per month, and let's say two reviewers ($50/month) or $4,270/month
• A block of 10,000 shared minutes would cost 34 cents/minute or $3400/month.

Of course, how many customers know how many minutes they spend using a technology? DocZone.com says they have been tracking usage since the product launched and are convinced that this will provide considerable cost savings to companies.

At minimum people may learn to be really productive. They just need to remember to log off when they answer a call or take a break! It should be noted that DocZone.com will continue to offer the traditional payment plan for those not interested in per-minute payment.

This is definitely radical, distinctly different, and it will be interesting to watch any ripple effect, not only in the content component industry, but among other SaaS products as well.