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  1. Joel Lessem

    The “Long-Tail” of the Online Software Industry – XCEVZP5HEJPE

    By Joel Lessem June 28, 2006 at 4:17 pm

    The long-tail concept of the long-tail was first coined by Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief at Wired magazine. In 2004 Anderson said:“The theory of the Long Tail is that our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of “hits” (mainstream products and markets) at the head of the demand [...]


    The long-tail concept of the long-tail was first coined by Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief at Wired magazine. In 2004 Anderson said:“The theory of the Long Tail is that our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of “hits” (mainstream products and markets) at the head of the demand curve and toward a huge number of niches in the tail. As the costs of production and distribution fall, especially online, there is now less need to lump products and consumers into one-size-fits-all containers”.

    Like other digital products, software is increasingly being delivered over the web. Until recently business software developers either distributed their product through a network of VARs (value-added resellers) or sold it directly, which required flying “implementation” consultants to client locations for installation and on-site training. Direct Sales were very costly due to staffing, travel and splitting revenues with VARs. When it came to doing business with resellers (who often only covered a small territory), only the “best sellers” which appealed to the widest possible set of customers, could be supported. This explains why customers have been getting “one size fits all” software that is then “configured” to their specific requirements.Historically software implementation could often be characterized as “putting square pegs in round holes”. There are thousands of cases of failed implementations and numerous law suits against software companies for not delivering as promised. A veteran enterprise software rep once described getting a new name account like “handing them a grenade and walking away with the pin”. It was just a matter of time until the whole thing blew up.Delivering software online, it provides a greater opportunity for niche applications to be developed and sold. The costs of distribution are much lower as software developers can sell and support their software directly with little time and cost lost to travel. Further as an online service customers always have the latest version of software which means the developer does not have patch and support past versions of software. Cost of ownership is also reduced for customers who do not have buy applications servers and software, and hire additional technical resources maintain them. Read more…


    Joel Lessem Leave a comment Cloud Computing, SaaS
  2. Joel Lessem

    Who’s Deal Room is it? Firm or Client?

    By Joel Lessem June 19, 2006 at 4:17 pm

    There has been much talk about the “boom and bust” of client extranets and deal rooms. In the late 1990s leading firms such as Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance invested millions building their own deal rooms. Neil Cameron, legal consultant, quoted in LegalIT article : Five Year Review Back To the Future (October 2005) [...]


    There has been much talk about the “boom and bust” of client extranets and deal rooms. In the late 1990s leading firms such as Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance invested millions building their own deal rooms. Neil Cameron, legal consultant, quoted in LegalIT article : Five Year Review Back To the Future (October 2005) , says that clients are not interested in using their law firm deal rooms. That in the future law firms will use their clients deal rooms.

    On this note I spoke to Gillian Stacey at Davies Ward who have been running numerous deals on “their” deal room for clients. I asked her if clients have been giving any push back on using the Davies deal room? The answer was an emphatic “no”! She says that clients are not in the business of running deals. Many simply do not have the deal frequency or inclination to invest in the technology.


    Joel Lessem Leave a comment Cloud Computing, Product & News, Virtual Data Room - FAQ, virtual data room
  3. Joel Lessem

    Online Deal Rooms Trends

    By Joel Lessem June 14, 2006 at 4:17 pm

    The emergence of online due diligence deal rooms is growing. From a few hundred deals in 2002 to an estimated 6000 in 2006. The two leaders (Intralinks, Datasite) are now being beset with smaller, cheaper alternatives as the market matures. These smaller virtual data rooms are sold through financial printers, who can digitize hard copy [...]


    The emergence of online due diligence deal rooms is growing. From a few hundred deals in 2002 to an estimated 6000 in 2006. The two leaders (Intralinks, Datasite) are now being beset with smaller, cheaper alternatives as the market matures. These smaller virtual data rooms are sold through financial printers, who can digitize hard copy diligence documentation and post it online for accountants, lawyers and relevant parties to review.

    On the other side of the spectrum are the legal software companies companies (Hummingbird, Interwoven) that have launched “enterprise collaboration tools” that handle due diligence and the actual collaboration over drafting closing documents. Downside is these enterprise tools tend to be generic for many different legal matters and they are not super intuitive for managing transactions specifically. They also require an investment in implementation and IT resources.

    All the law firms I have spoken to recently about online transaction management have some sort of legal extranet. But it appears that when it comes to managing transactions online the software is not being used. Either its too complicated for attorneys to use, or simply its not a great fit.

    With over 3000 transactions being managed online in 2005 (from 450 in 2002), its just a matter of time until law firms take control of running these deals and implementing online transaction management software.


    Joel Lessem Leave a comment Industry Trends, Virtual Data Room - FAQ, virtual data room