“Companies are facing a lot of cash issues. While they all understand the importance of automation, there is huge pressure of cost. Companies need to prioritize immediate areas that need investment. Increasingly getting firms to look at newer models in the as-a-service economy is one way to manage cash flow,” said Sangeeta Gupta, VP and chief strategy officer, Nasscom.

That is where service providers can step up and come up with more innovative models that would help businesses automate without having to spend upfront.

“Clients are asking for innovation in the operating model of the transaction that we do. Some are asking for deferred payments, some are asking for solution as a service. Then there are a few others who want to get into this innovation model of jointly going to the market of the future with us,” said Kamal Singhani, managing partner, IBM India.

Pay-per-use is a widely used model adopted in the technology industry. SaaS (Software as a Service) has worked successfully for cloud computing and have boosted its adoption.

The biggest advantage of pay-as-you-go is that it ensures the business doesn’t waste any resources they are buying. The same model can help businesses invest in automation without having to worry about cost.

In this model, the automation software is licensed through a monthly/annual subscription, unlike traditional business process management solutions sold as a single license and requires the customer to pay upfront.