CE Pro December 2021 - 34

SOFTWARE
something like $12,000 per year for software licenses and I can't
even get it to work properly on a mobile app. There is a vacuum
of simplicity in the industry; it's super frustrating, " he says.
Ostrin's experience is not unique. Integrators across the
spectrum shared their frustrations and needs for industry software
as part of the 2021 CE Pro Software Deep Dive Study.
Integrators have an average of six pieces of software in their
company and they spend a median of $1,260 per year in either
new software or ongoing fees. They also tend to buy four new
pieces of software every five years. They also note that, on
average, they have abandoned three pieces of software over
the life of their company for various reasons.
So why go through all the headaches of purchasing and
learning software if it's such a hassle? The bottom line. Dealers
report that utilizing an end-to-end software solution to help
run their company adds a median of 13.4% to their bottom
line. For the typical custom installation company that earned
approximately $1.36 million in revenue last year at a 30%
profit margin, that means software alone adds nearly $55,000
directly to the bottom line. Wow!
For some integrators, the benefits of implementing software
are even more apparent. In total, 4% of integrators report seeing
a 50% boost to their bottom line by adopting various types
of software. Meanwhile, some dealers must see other benefits
in software than improvement in profits; about 6% report that
using software does not boost their bottom line at all.
Faster installations, improved documentation and the ability
to close more sales are the primary reasons dealers give for
the results achieved using software.
D-Tools: The Secret to Neutralizing the Labor Shortage
Almost every industry is suffering from
a labor shortage, and electronic systems
integrators have not been spared. The
pundits point to a variety of causes, but
the shortage is most likely a symptom of
what is being referred to as " the mother of
all recoveries " stoking the economy. GDP
growth is at its highest in nearly 40 years and, according to
the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, economic growth is
expected to continue compounding at an unprecedented
rate of 4.0% for the next nine years.
In other words, this labor shortage isn't going away. So,
if you accept the reality that finding candidates to hire is
challenging, expensive, risky ... and unlikely, what options
are available for integrators faced with uncomfortably high
and growing demand?
Software Expenditures 2016-2021
$50,000+ 9%
$20,001 to
$50,000
11%
$10,001 to
$20,000
15%
$5,001 to
$10,000
20%
Less than
$500 8%
$501 to
$1,000 8%
$1,001 to
$3,000
15%
$3,001 to
$5,000
14%
Type of Software Preference
Custom-built
mix 6%
No Opinion
11%
Dealers have spent
a median of $6,300,
or $1,260 per year,
on software over
the past five years.
Desktop/
locally
based
31%
Cloudbased
53%
More
than half
of integrators
prefer cloud-based
solutions.
Well, if you like the current size of your business, an obvious
way to taper demand is to raise prices. In these inflationary
times, everyone's doing it! And the side benefit of chilling
demand by raising prices is that profits will increase dramatically
since fixed and variable costs should remain unchanged.
A better option for those who want to " ride the wave "
is to focus on increasing output and project throughput,
using your existing team. How, you ask? By focusing on
improving employee engagement, creating and operationalizing
best practices, and exploiting productive tools
(i.e. software), the combination of which can result in a
20%-30% increase in productivity and project throughput
without expanding the size of your team. (To learn more
about ways to increase team output and project throughput,
visit d-tools.com/resource-center/industry-insights.)
-Randy Stearns, CEO, D-Tools
34 | CE Pro December 2021
cepro.com
http://www.d-tools.com/resource-center/industry-insights http://www.cepro.com
CE Pro December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CE Pro December 2021
