At IFS Unleashed, the global enterprise cloud company has made announcements even before the first keynote begins. IFS assyst has unveiled a ‘‘Free or 23’’ initiative for its service management solution. It enables organisations to access IFS assyst for the full year 2023.
Enterprises can implement any of the three modules: Enterprise Service Management (ESM), IT Service Management (ITSM), and IT Operations Management (ITOM). Once implemented, organisations can standardize, improve, and automate service management workflows across all devices.
Martin Schirmer, President of the Enterprise Service Management business unit, commented, “In today’s hyper-connected digital landscape, providing employees and customers with high-quality services is essential to create a competitive advantage. By offering IFS assyst free of charge, we’re advancing our mission to democratize service management, reducing barriers to entry when it comes to cost. With our best-of-breed capabilities, organizations can streamline workflows and deliver rich omnichannel digital experiences anytime, anywhere.”
“Free for 23”, too good to be true?
The headline sounds great. However, the devil is in the detail, most of which IFS don’t include in the press release. While no credit card is needed, there is a commitment to a three-year term for the software, which one might expect means the software is 30% off. However, hosting, implementation and support are not included in the package. These are offered as part of the paid package in years 2 and 3. It isn’t clear what the cost for them is.
Possibly the biggest caveat is around the minimum of 1,000 employees. The inference is that this is the minimum number of seats for which this offer is valid. Though the FAQ doesn’t specifically state this. The offer is available until November 2023. Unfortunately, if your company is already in discussions with IFS assyst, this also invalidates the offer.
For IFS customers attending Unleashed who have not started a conversation with assyst, this might be the right time to do so. They could obtain a significant discount on the solution.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
As with any offer of free software, there is a roller coaster of emotions as one considers whether it is worth it. The offer of free software always attracts interest, and this offer will do that. If you are the right size of organisation interested in implementing or replacing an existing service management solution, this offer is worth a look. This is not a freemium offer, though. While it says no credit card required, with 1,000 seats minimum, one wonders whether it is more credit cards not accepted.
This is not a try-before-you-buy offer with the costs of implementation to factor in. Some organisations offer free implementation for software, and others will offer discounts. This falls into the latter category. This offer is an interesting initiative by marketing. It will be interesting to understand what impact it has. If successful, will IFS extend it to more applications?
