What IT Businesses Can Learn From the Games Industry

by Steve Patterson, Independent Technology Author

According to research by Gartner, the global IT (information technology) industry is expected to be worth as much as $3.7 trillion in 2018. This is a huge increase over previous years, with the figure representing a 4.5% increase over 2017. The growth is attributable to blockchain, Internet of Things, and big data.

While the increase means that there is growing interest in what the sector has to offer, it also means that there is growing competition. Businesses will have to discover new ways to shine and stand out, so what better way to do that than to look at the gaming industry, a sector which is worth an estimated $91.5 billion (As of 2015)?

Provide Users Greater Incentives

With so much money on the line, there will be many IT businesses trying to offer the same solutions. Your solution may be better, it may be more affordable and it may make more common sense than that of your competitors, but what are you to do if your rivals have greater brand awareness and have a larger marketing budget?
One takeaway from the games industry is to provide your users and potential customers with greater incentives to work with you. Like the online casino bonus and free spin offers listed by providers of slots, blackjack and roulette games, you could sweeten the pot for your users. Unlike online casinos, you may not offer free spins, but could you offer them a free consultation or analysis report? This would function like the no-deposit offers of online casinos as your users would get an excellent benefit without having to spend for it.

Offer Opportunities for Recurring Spend

Blizzard Entertainment’s fantasy MMO World of Warcraft is one of the game’s industry’s best examples of recurring revenue, having accrued more than $10 billion worth of subscription fees and game and DLC purchases since being released in 2004. The game isn’t the only one raking it in from subscription fees, though, with CCP Games’ sci-fi MMO Eve Online and game streaming and download services such as PlayStation Now and EA Access all raking it in from players who pay to play on a monthly or annual basis.

IT businesses could follow suit in this sense by offering users more ways to spend beyond the initial purchase. Instead of selling them a one-time package, can you create a suite of tools that they pay to have access to? Or host regular education sessions that provide valuable information? You can turn those loyal customers into continuously paying users.

Given that the games industry itself is based on the IT sector, it seems odd that the parent industry could learn things from the industry that spun out of it. However, given how much money the industry is making and how it has risen to be the leading form of entertainment in terms of revenue, by using the above points, it stands to reason that traditional IT businesses can learn something from it and grow bigger and better by watching closely.