IT software companies must do more to close deals, says expert

20:30 12th December 2008

IT software companies are not closing deals and should make a concerted effort to do so if they are to survive the economic downturn, says an industry insider.

Jass Sarai, head of software and IT services at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said that IT software companies were more focused on their staffing levels and the processes involved in running a business rather than closing crucial business deals.

She urged the IT industry to examine the systems they have in place and examine how they could win more business in challenging circumstances.

Ms Sarai explained: "What you've got is a sales process which involves kissing a lot of troughs, as I describe it. It's based much more on the cost of running that sales force and headcount measures, they don't look at it sophisticatedly enough and say 'how are we evaluating each of our opportunities to get the best out of it?'. That's really about sophistication and effectiveness of their sales force."

A PricewaterhouseCoopers survey published this month (December 2008) lists the top 100 software companies in Europe and shows that UK companies comprise 15 per cent of the list.