Market Perspectives

PROS is an award-winning provider of artificial intelligence-powered pricing and revenue management software applications. The PROS platform is designed to help organizations optimize pricing and revenue management capabilities. The platform uses AI and machine learning to analyze large amounts of data and provide businesses with insights into pricing trends, customer behavior and market dynamics. With this information, organizations can make data-driven pricing decisions that maximize revenue and profitability.  

In today's business environment, optimizing both revenue and margin are crucial for success, particularly given the added complexity of omnichannel selling. With the rise of e-commerce and the increased use of digital channels, organizations must adapt to a new reality where customers expect a seamless shopping experience across all channels – whether business to business or business to consumer. Optimizing revenue and margin in an omnichannel environment requires a multifaceted approach that incorporates data analysis, analytics and operationalization. Vendors like PROS must collect and analyze data from multiple sources to gain a comprehensive understanding of customer behavior and preferences. 

One of the key strengths of PROS is its focus on pricing optimization. The platform provides a range of capabilities, such as dynamic pricing, price guidance and price optimization, that enable organizations to optimize pricing strategies across a range of products and services. Additionally, the platform includes PROS Smart Configure Price Quote. This “smart” CPQ is powered by AI/ML to further enhance the omnichannel selling experience, which corresponds to real dollars and time saved. Its focus on industry-specific applications is another strength. The company has developed tools for a range of industries, including manufacturing, distribution and travel, that are tailored to the unique needs and challenges of each industry. This industry-specific focus has enabled PROS to build deep expertise in each area and provide applications that deliver real business value.  

The PROS value proposition resonates with businesses of all sizes, resulting in growth and expansion. The company has also made several acquisitions to enhance its capabilities and offerings over the past decade, including: 

• Vayant, a cloud software company offering advanced shopping, merchandising and inspirational travel solutions. 
• Cameleon Software, a provider of CPQ applications, specializing in finding patterns and preferences within transaction data and helping customers determine which accounts are most likely to sell and at what price. 
• And SignalDemand, providing predictive and prescriptive analytics and optimization for resource-based and commodity-driven businesses.  

These acquisitions have shown to be successful for the PROS platform, as demonstrated by revenue growth. 

PROS is well-positioned for continued growth in the marketplace. The pricing and revenue management software market is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years, propelled by increasing demand for data-driven pricing applications and optimization tools. Ventana Research asserts that by 2026, two-thirds of revenue leaders will consider a new generation of revenue analytics and data-driven applications designed to improve performance and productivity.  

Its platform, capabilities and industry-specific focus make PROS a strong contender in the market. Additionally, the company's recent acquisitions and partnerships suggest that it is well-positioned to continue investing in innovation and expansion. However, there are also potential risks and challenges that PROS may face. The pricing and revenue management software market is highly competitive. Additionally, the market may become more crowded with new entrants, potentially leading to increased competition and pricing pressures. One such pressure is the evolving need to make the pricing process for deals more automated through the point of sale and not just the back-office process. The POS system acts as a central hub for transactions and customer interactions, making it an ideal platform for streamlining the pricing and quote approval process. However the “rules” of the system need to be rich enough to allow the sales person to price within predetermined compliance rules. The goal is to reduce the need for manual inspections, since doing so for every deal can slow the entire process. 

Focusing on pricing and revenue management has resulted in rapid growth and expansion for PROS. The company's platform, capabilities and industry-specific focus make it a strong contender in the market. While there are potential risks and challenges on the horizon, recent acquisitions and partnerships suggest that PROS is well-positioned to continue investing in innovation and expansion and to maintain its position as a leading player in the pricing and revenue management software market. 

For further insights on revenue management and performance, see Stephen Hurrell’s Analyst Perspectives on revenue model mix optimization and maximizing alignment through performance.