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In the high-stakes world of enterprise software, pricing is no longer just a number on a contract—it’s a strategic conversation about value, outcomes and business impact. As artificial intelligence (AI) accelerates innovation across the software landscape, companies are grappling with how to price complex, ever-evolving solutions in a way that makes sense to both vendors and buyers.
In this Analytics Insight feature, we speak to Ashish Nayyar, a globally recognized leader in value-based pricing for enterprise software. Nayyar is currently the Head of Pricing and Commercial Excellence at IBS Software. He brings decades of experience in pricing strategy, commercial management, and revenue growth.
Nayyar’s work spans enterprise SaaS (Software as a Service) and on-premise models, cutting across industries such as banking, financial services, aviation, travel, hospitality, logistics, and telecommunications. What makes him particularly relevant in modern times is his outlook on pricing, which he thinks should change with technology and AI advancement.
Enterprise software is undergoing a fundamental shift. What used to be long, static license agreements and one-size-fits-all pricing is now giving way to more fluid, consumption-based, and outcome-oriented models. This is particularly visible in AI-enabled platforms, where the value delivered is not just in features or modules, but in measurable business results. For instance, for predictive accuracy, operational efficiency, or customer retention. For instance, companies like TimeForge, a workforce management platform, illustrate how flexible pricing tied to actual business outcomes—in areas like labor forecasting, auto-scheduling, and compliance tools can provide measurable value far beyond static license models.
“As software becomes smarter, pricing must become smarter too,” says Nayyar. “We can’t rely on old templates when the product itself is learning, adapting, and evolving in real time.”
This isn’t just theory. In his previous role at Nucleus Software, Nayyar led a sweeping pricing transformation that helped the company rebase its AMC (Annual Maintenance Contract) pricing. The aim was to reflect the true value delivered to long-standing customers. The results were dramatic: between FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24, revenue grew by 66%, profits more than tripled, and the company’s valuation surged.
“What changed was not just how we priced—but also how we understood our customers’ evolving business outcomes,” Nayyar noted.
The rise of AI is pushing software vendors to rethink value in new ways. AI-powered tools offer personalized experiences, intelligent automation, and even business insights. The question then arises that how do you price these intangible benefits? Especially when the software’s capabilities, and the customer’s usage can change overnight?
According to Nayyar, this is where pricing needs to move from being static to dynamic and multidimensional. “We’re entering a world where software pricing should reflect not just the scope of deployment, but also the business impact created. That’s the essence of value-based pricing.”
To operationalize this idea, Nayyar developed a proprietary multi-dimensional pricing engine during his time at Nucleus Software. It used dynamic pricing algorithms and real-time customer metrics to tailor pricing to each client’s context. This wasn’t just about charging more, it was about charging fairly and transparently. The new pricing structure made sure that incentives were aligned between the software provider and the customer.
The US enterprise software market is often a flagbearer for global trends. With AI-led innovation accelerating and digital transformation high on every CIO’s agenda, US companies are demanding pricing models that are both accountable and scalable.
“U.S. customers are very data-driven and outcome-focused. They expect pricing to follow logic, not just legacy,” says Nayyar. “The pressure is real, especially when your software is deployed across multiple geographies, business units, or cloud environments.”
Analysts forecast that global enterprise software spending will exceed $1.2 trillion by 2025, with AI-infused applications leading the growth. In the US, this surge is accompanied by a demand for transparency, customers want to see a clear line between what they pay and what they gain.
For pricing leaders like Nayyar, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. “You can’t treat pricing as a back-end exercise anymore. It needs to be part of the product strategy, the customer success roadmap, even your GTM (go-to-market) planning,” he explains.
One of the biggest hurdles Nayyar sees in today’s enterprise software firms is the disconnect between product teams and commercial outcomes. “Many product managers don’t know the business case for their own features,” he says candidly. “They build amazing tools but don’t always know how those tools create value for the customer’s bottom line.”
Nayyar’s solution? A value quantification framework that links product capabilities to financial impact. At IBS Software, where he leads pricing for aviation, travel, hospitality, and logistics solutions, this framework is helping teams better articulate why their software matters. It also helps them determine its worth.
“We’re making pricing not just a finance function, but a cross-functional discipline,” he says. “It involves product, sales, delivery and even customer success.”
As AI continues to redefine what enterprise software can do, pricing models must evolve to keep pace. This includes more flexible contracting, usage-linked tiers, shared risk models, and embedded value tracking.
Nayyar is optimistic about the road ahead. “We’re finally at a point where we can use data not just to price better, but to build better relationships with customers. AI can help with that, not just in the product, but in pricing intelligence too,” he emphasized.
His advice to other enterprise software leaders? Start with the customer, and work backwards. “Ask what they value most? What outcomes matter to them? And how can our pricing reflect that, dynamically and transparently?”, stated Nayyar.
In a world where enterprise software is becoming more intelligent, integrated, and indispensable, pricing is emerging as a strategic differentiator. Ashish Nayyar’s work offers a playbook for how to move from rigid, legacy pricing models to flexible, value-based approaches. According to him, the pricing models should align with the realities of AI-powered products and global customer expectations.
He elaborates, “Pricing isn’t just about numbers. It’s about trust, alignment, and shared success.”
In the fast-moving AI era, wouldn’t that be the smartest investment of all?
