As a software developer, provided you have the legal rights, you can choose to sell (licence) your software directly to your end customers, or you could appoint a third party to do it for you. This may allow you to:
- reach end-customers quickly and easily using the existing network and experience of your chosen partner;
- enter new markets where your partner is already active but you currently aren’t;
- save you the time and expense of setting up your own sales team; and
- free you up to concentrate on developing.
However, the trade-off with having any third party involved in selling your product is that you:
- lose a degree of control over your product;
- have to disclose confidential details of your product/trade secrets to outsiders;
- distance yourself from your end customers; and
- have to sacrifice some of your profits as your reseller will want commission on the sales or a discount on the products.