Pricing issues: user perspectives of database pricing, deep pockets and empty wallets

Issue title: THE DATABASE BUSINESS: Managing Today – Planning for Tomorrow. Papers from the 30th NFAIS Annual Conference

Guest editors: A.W. Elias

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Kostenbauder, Scott

Affiliations: IBM Technical Information Center, IBM Corporation, 500 Columbus Avenue, Thornwood, NY 10594, USA

Abstract: Pricing is usually oriented to one or a few users per user agreement. The large potential audience of end-user professionals is still mostly an untapped market as is the broad use of information as a resource. Current pricing structures often make volume use by an organization, an unreasonably high cost process and a run-away expense item. Many end-users can be found when a total marketing approach alerts the management of users to the resulting potential benefits of innovation, productivity, quality and professional awareness. Pricing then can be adjusted for volume sale, thus lowering the cost of information to individual users. The true value of information to an organization becomes more apparent and the use of information services becomes a routine part of doing business with more reasonable costs.

DOI: 10.3233/ISU-1988-82-407

Journal: Information Services & Use, vol. 8, no. 2-4, pp. 85-90, 1988