Customers are notified when new features are available for use

Description

Notifying customers about available upgrades in business software ensures that users are up to date with the latest features and enhancements. This function helps the customer to receive increasing value out of the system over time.

Example Use Case

Scenario: A global financial firm uses consolidation software to roll-up various entities around the world. The software provider regularly releases new features and upgrades such as advanced analysis tools, new country-specific compliance tools, and so on.

Solution: Whenever a new upgrade is available, the system automatically sends out notification emails to all user accounts, providing details about the new features, instructions on how to utilize them, and offers of training. This ensures that users are promptly informed and can take full advantage of the system's capabilities.

Considerations

This is a relatively basic ask of a software vendor. As such, it may serve as informational for customers vs something that should be in a demonstration scorecard.

While a basic requirement, some vendors are not very good at this. They'll send out a list of features with no context or applicable use cases. Or there will be no offers of training. When new features come out, it is essentially table stakes for the vendor to offer customers (even if in a large group setting) a way to see the features in action via a live meeting.

Questions to Ask a Vendor

• Notification Customization: Can the frequency and method of upgrade notifications be customized based on customer preferences?
• Training and Support: What kind of support does the vendor provide to assist customers in understanding and implementing new upgrades?
• Upgrade Timing: Can I dictate when a specific upgrade is deployed to my instance of the product?
• Upgrade Reach: Are certain upgrades only applied to new customers? In other words, when we implement, is our code on an island or is it shared with other customers?