Are your enterprise software vendors trying to make their problem - revenue targets - your problem by force-feeding you add-ons and modules and services you don't want or need? CIOs say this "value-destruction" approach manifests itself in three specific ways, according to Forrester VP Ray Wang's latest installment in his five-part series, "It's The Relationship, Stupid!"In "Part 3: Pushing products that clients don't need in order to grow revenues," Wang says that while software companies can try to justify this approach by saying they have quarterly numbers to hit, they are nevertheless running the risk of "jeopardizing brand value, trust, and market credibility for short-term gain."

In these days of ruthless budget-cutting among the customer set, is that really a wise approach? I think not, and CIOs who in this environment might be vulnerable to strong-arm tactics due to their companies' desperate circumstances are sure to have long memories that will stay fresh well into the time of improving business climates.

And with more competition coming from new approaches and new companies via SaaS, cloud computing, hosted models, and more, Wang's message throughout his entire five-part series is a powerful one: will software companies be willing to exchange relatively modest short-term term revenue gains for ruined relationships in the long term?

Wang cites three approaches that CIOs say enterprise software vendors are employing that are focused solely on the revenue targets of the software companies rather than the business needs of the customers:

These ham-fisted approaches seem so obviously counterproductive - why do some software companies insist on making the buyer-seller relationship even more complex than the underlying code? Be sure to check out the first two parts of Wang's five-part series, with the next two installments due on April 20 and April 27.