The software is very easy to use, and in just a matter of an hour or so, they are expert users of the product. The software puts them in a position where they can do their research up front and make intelligent data purchase decisions prior to printing or downloading. The increased demand for CD-ROM technology has caused greater competition. The competitors' technological knowledge has made hardware prices even cheaper. Their impact will be phenomenal.
Many marketers argue that CD-ROM software is expensive.
With vendors switching to subscription pricing and introducing transaction charges, the cost of data gathering is going up. Considering the amount of information they hold, however, the most expensive CD-ROMs are still cheaper than the least expensive floppy diskettes. Industry sources say software prices will come down further when more people buy drives and when more CD-ROM titles become available. At least the increased competition in the compact disk publishing industry is holding software prices stable. Ironically, the biggest threat to CD-ROM technology may be the information superhighway itself.