Consumer surplus for software products
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On the other hand, many things affect the total cost of ownership of software products besides price. These include implementation, training, management, and operations costs. Additionally, switching costs to competitors play a role because customers may fear that the vendor may discontinue the product or go out of business. These authors suggest that the price of software should be based on its consumer surplus. Pricing strategies can be used to gain the most revenue such as product bundling, forming separable modules, and price discrimination with product variants and target groups. (2004) Calculations of consumer surplus is one way that software firms can keep track of their perception by customers in an integrative way.
References
Messerschmitt, D. G. and C. Szyperski. “Marketplace Issues in Software Planning and Design.” IEEE Software. Volume: 21, Issue: 3 (May/June 2004), pp:62-70.