MOVE BEYOND BILLING: TRANSFORM

YOUR BUSINESS WITH MONETIZATION

FIXING A PROBLEM BEGINS WITH

FULLY DEFINING THE PROBLEM
YOU ARE TRYING TO SOLVE

If you are in the market for billing software, you know it’s an environment full of different terminology used to
describe related ideas. Billing. Invoicing. Subscription Management. Recurring Revenue Management. And,
our personal favorite - Monetization. All this terminology confusion can make it difficult to sort through what
vendors are trying to sell you and, more importantly, what a particular solution will deliver.

BILLING VERSUS MONETIZATION and services your business won’t succeed. But
billing constitutes only one component of an overall
The terms billing and monetization are both broadly used
monetization strategy and framework. There are many
to describe the process of selling products and services
companies and solutions which are very good at billing.
and collecting associated revenue. And while terms are There are just a few who are good at enabling true
used interchangeably, billing and monetization have dif- strategic monetization that drives business growth.
ferent meanings. It’s important to understand the distinc-
– Monetization seeks to go beyond billing to understand
tion between these terms to accurately diagnose potential
what drives customer value and turn organizational
billing issues and choose the right kind of solution for your
expertise into revenue - via product and service
business. offerings. If you regularly introduce new offerings, want
– Billing is a business process while monetization is the ability to respond to changing customer needs, or
considered a business discipline. If you are worried need scalability for a growing business, it might be best
about being more efficient and want to get rid of to consider a monetization platform that addresses
manual processes, there are a myriad of options in the your immediate billing requirements while at the same
market to help you manage billing-related processes. time creating a growth-focused business discipline.

– Billing focuses on the processes of collecting Due to these fundamentally different contexts, solutions
transactional debts. If you are only worried that promise only to address your billing automation and
about getting cash in the door faster, within process needs won’t create an optimum environment
the context of a simple transactional model, for monetization. This disconnect can lead to frustration
billing software might be all you need. and an underwhelming ROI if you select the wrong kind
– Billing is a core discipline of monetization - after solution for your business or fail to consider the broader
all if you can’t collect revenue for your product implications of the shifting digital economy.
YOU DON’T NEED BILLING. YOU NEED A Move beyond billing.
MONETIZATION REVOLUTION. Success in the digital economy requires organizations to move be-
yond traditional, outdated billing practices and software to develop
a monetization mindset. Billing solutions that are transactionally
“Fueled by the digital revolution, the very nature of competition is
focused don’t adequately address complex business needs. In the
changing radically. Product innovation and growth opportunities
digital economy, B2B revenue scenarios are diverse and dynamic.
are only bounded by the imagination. Once protected pools of
Sales strategies are shifting to include both direct sales and indirect
profit are now at-risk.”
channels. Customer expectations are evolving. Billing software can
- MGI Research
become an organizational bottleneck when it lacks the functionality
It’s a rare B2B enterprise that hasn’t been impacted in some to address these needs.
manner by the digital economy.
Embrace monetization.
– Businesses that historically sold physical goods and Monetization consisting of both business practices and an appropri-
professional services have seen their inventory
ately architected technology platform – has the potential to create
transformed into to a catalog of virtual offerings and
meaningful competitive differentiation, enable a business to re-
their customer relationships dramatically realigned.
spond effectively to dynamic market shifts, and drive new growth.
– New competitors, with new business models, have
entered traditional markets and upended the usual way Focus on data.
of doing business - think Uber, Lyft, Air BnB, IoT, etc. Data is the common denominator in the digital economy and mon-
etization. It’s our conclusion from working with over 100 organi-
– Customer expectations are shifting, and B2B buyers now
demand the same pricing and packaging flexibility that they have zations, that most companies who believe that they have a billing
come to expect as routine in their non-business purchasing. problem, in fact, have an underlying data problem that’s’ preventing
effective monetization of their products and services within the
– B2B selection and procurement process has shifted to
context of the digital economy. That’s why the BLUIQ platform is
business buyers, circumventing traditional IT-control
and changing conventional selling processes. architected from a data-centric mentality focused on connecting
disparate information sources - within and outside the traditional
– Growth expectations have changed, and the metrics of
billing realm, to automate complex billing scenarios, create new
business success have shifted to consider things such as
sources of insight from related data, uncover useful intelligence
Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), Customer Acquisition
about what customers value, and drive growth from new offerings.
Cost (CAC), Churn rates, Negative churn ratios, and LTV.

TOP 10 BUSINESS IMPACTS OF EMBRACING MONETIZATION

Shifting your business to embrace monetization is imperative for success in the digital economy. Companies that
choose to ignore the market dynamics of the digital economy are at risk for losing revenue and churning customers.
While the long-term outcomes of developing a monetization discipline are positive, there are short-term operational
impacts to consider. The following list summarizes the ten most typical common organizational implications we have
observed working with clients as they implement our BLUIQ platform and shift to a monetization focus.

1. Cash Flow — In response to competitive pressures and 2. On-Demand Inventory Management — Traditional
customer demand, revenue and pricing models may shift from methods of inventory management FIFO/LIFO simply
larger single transactions to smaller recurring transactions. don’t apply to usage or consumption based monetization
This evolution can introduce a dramatic impact on cash in the digital economy. Usage-based monetization requires
flow. Companies that have not previously used a recurring inventory to be managed on-demand for both physical and
revenue model need to prepare for cash flow troughs virtual assets such as software licenses, serial numbers,
and consider ways to mitigate the resulting challenges. etc. Companies pursuing a monetization strategy need
New cash metrics and modeling need can help to simulate to ensure they are prepared to support on-demand
future cash flows and forecast operational impacts. For fulfillment and provisioning processes depending on the
a deeper dive into this issue, read David Skoks’s take. dynamic needs of their customers and the market.
3. Order Automation — The commerce realities of the digital automation using data from
economy and the virtualization of service offerings may require within the organization.
that upstream suppliers and vendors to play a vital role in Because operational data is
order automation and fulfillment. Full order automation will one-dimensional, there is limited
necessitate integration with suppliers systems via API’s or opportunity to expand offerings.
other data integration tools to monetize new offerings and When the customer needs change
enhance the customer relationship. In some cases, upstream or full automation requires connecting
vendors may wish for customers to use native provisioning to additional data sources, existing
and fulfillment portals while enabling the downstream agent billing systems can’t keep pace. Within an
to bill and invoice the customer directly. Regardless of the optimized monetization environment, multiple
scenario, both the order activation and billing processes data streams can are consumed, monitored, and managed and
require careful planning and data-mapping to ensure success. incorporated into a centralized monetization data repository.

4. Marketing & Product Development—In the digital economy, 8. Revenue Management & Reporting — New accounting
monetization enables B2B “go-to-market” activities to become a standards were introduced in ASC 606 & IFRS 15 that impact
source of competitive advantage and creates new opportunities revenue recognition and need to become part of an overall
to impact customer churn and loyalty. New pricing approaches, monetization plan. These new standards require companies
creative packaging of features, and alternative product to identify contracts with customers, separate performance
configurations enable business customers to buy what they obligations with the agreement, determine transaction price
need when they need it - much as they have come to expect for each performance obligation, allocate the transaction price,
in their consumer purchasing experiences. Data-centric and recognize the revenue when the performance obligation is
monetization approaches further enable intelligent go-to- satisfied. Within the context of monetization, this has an impact
market activities by using customer insight and usage data to on underlying systems and the necessity of fully automated
create new offerings that the most likely to drive new revenue. integration processes with accounting and GL systems.

5. Billing & Invoicing — Legacy accounting and ERP solutions 9. Sales Channels — The virtualization of products and services
and first-generation SaaS Billing solutions are not equipped and cloud-based sales capabilities has expanded the potential
to handle the evolving needs of the digital economy. Revenue for businesses to increase sales via indirect channels including
scenarios are continually increasing in complexity as new partners and agents. However, managing sales processes and
B2B business models emerge. Usage-based charges, bundled customer expectations in an indirect channel is challenging.
services, hybrid packaging of physical and virtual offerings, This challenge is especially apparent when the channel
customer-level payment requirements, multi-vendor offerings, partner sells the solution, but the vendor communicates
account hierarchies and more all combine to require a with customers about billing and ongoing accountant
scalable technology platform that can adapt dynamically to management. The monetization considerations for channel
immense complexity. Software that was architected to sales includes ensuring sales processes are enabled to generate
manage legacy invoicing, simple subscription billing, or quotes and orders, managing commissions, coordinating
first-generation recurring payments can’t address the on-boarding and provisioning, and pass-thru rebilling.
monetization complexity of current product offerings.
10. Customer Focus — As the digital economy continually
6. People & Systems — Embracing monetization evolves, so do the underlying expectations of B2B customers.
requires internal process adjustment It’s no longer acceptable to assume a one-size-fits-all
and significant change management. The approach to product pricing and packaging. Customers
organizations most likely to succeed typically expect the ability to pick and choose features, functions,
designate a “Monetization Champion” to consider and capabilities that align with their value drivers. What’s
implications for accounting systems, sales quote more, customers expect to be able to self-manage their
to order processes, sales reporting tools, customer account information - at the enterprise (parent account)
management, product development, IT and more. The or individual account (child account) level, as needed. At a
change agent helps to clarify strategic and operational minimum, organizations should offer the ability to set up
objectives, identify systems and technology impacts, and payment plans, submit one-time payments, view invoice details,
educate functional leaders. The monetization champion review usage details, manage account information, add or
also acts as a touch point, managing external entities cancel products and services, and access any product related
that enable process automation or data integration. resources via an up-to-date and dynamic customer portal.

7. Data Integration — Traditional billing approaches focus on

 If you are ready to start a monetization revolution for your organization, it’s time to get
to know BLUIQ. The BLUIQ Platform, powered by BluLogix, is engineered to identify
and address the full continuum of B2B monetization requirements including, billing;
product, service, and catalog management; go-to-market activities; on-boarding &
provisioning; customer engagement; and advanced analytics. And because BLUIQ is the
only true multi-tenant, SaaS monetization platform in the market today we can deliver
solutions for complex business requirements where other vendors have failed.

We think differently. Our platform doesn’t stop at just delivering the best billing functionality. We go beyond billing to
enable your business with data-enriched monetization. In short, this means that our proprietary technology approach
optimizes data differently to close efficiency gaps, deliver true automation, generate customer insights, and adequately
address the needs of complex B2B revenue models.

We like to listen. You’ll notice from your first interaction with our team that understanding your business is our primary
goal. Even our sales process is different. We won’t rush to show you a demo of BLUIQ until we fully understand what
issues your business wants to address. And because we have a true multi-tenant solution, we can show you a demo
environment tailored to your needs. No more wondering if the solution will really work in your business environment -
we will prove to you that it can.

We love complexity. Our data-centric architecture enables BLUIQ to manage a broad variety of billing and revenue
scenarios from simple subscription billing, to hybrid usage and flat fee scenarios, to complex indirect channels, com-
missions and revenue models. We support intricate parent/child account hierarchies and extensive integrations with
external systems.

We deliver results. Since 2013 we have been providing sophisticated billing and monetization solutions for 100+ satis-
fied clients. Our success rests on our commitment to fully understanding your business needs. From the start of our
sales process and throughout implementation and beyond, our team of monetization experts is committed to address-
ing your business needs and empowering your business with a platform to drive growth. And because we believe so
firmly in our ability to create a positive impact for your business, we are the only vendor to offer “shared upside” pricing
that scales based on your growth.

PUT YOUR BUSINESS ON THE PATH TO MONETIZATION.

GET IN TOUCH TODAY

BluLogix helps businesses in the digital economy frustrated with billing, aggregate
data to automate processes, generate new customer intelligence, and revolutionize
growth. Founded in 2013, BluLogix delivers BLUIQ - the only true multi-tenant SaaS
monetization platform in the market. Our proprietary technology and data-enriched  +1 443.333.4100
monetization approach has helped 100+ companies get beyond billing and focus on  [email protected]
identifying value-aligned relationship and revenue opportunities.  www.blulogix.com