Understanding Business Rules Engines Pricing Models - What Factors Influence Costs of BRE?

Partially automating business processes, changing rules without harming business logic, user friendly interface – these are the features of business rule engine.

But it all comes at a cost. How much business rules engine cost? What affects the price? You'll know everything today.

BRE Pricing Models

Business Rules Engines (BREs) come in various pricing models, each suited to different business needs. 

Subscription based models offer flexibility, where businesses can pay monthly or annually for the engine. This model often includes tiered pricing based on features or usage, so businesses can scale up their investment as they grow. For example, a basic tier might include core rule execution capabilities and higher tiers include advanced analytics or integration options.

Per-user licensing is another model, popular with smaller teams or organizations with fewer rule authors. This model charges based on the number of users actively using the system. While it can be cost effective for small teams, it can be very expensive as the user base grows.

Usage based pricing models charge organizations based on the number of rules executed or decisions made. This model is good for businesses with variable needs, as they only pay for what they use. Some providers offer volume discounts, so businesses can use more and potentially pay less for large scale operations.

Perpetual licensing, though less common in the software-as-a-service world, still exists in the BRE market. This model involves a big upfront cost to buy the software outright and often comes with maintenance fees. While it can be cost-effective for long term, high volume users, it requires a big initial investment and may lead to using outdated software if upgrades are not included in the maintenance agreement.

Business Rules Engines Pricing Factors

The choice between open source and proprietary solutions has a big impact on BRE costs. Open source options like Drools or OpenRules offer free access to the core engine and can reduce initial costs. But they often require more technical expertise to implement and maintain. 

Proprietary solutions like Higson come with higher licensing costs but offer more support, documentation, and user-friendly interface.

We’ve compared open-source vs proprietary rules engines here.

Read more: https://www.higson.io/blog/open-source-vs-proprietary-rules-engines-weighing-the-pros-and-cons 

The end user profile has a big impact on pricing. BREs for technical users like developers or data scientists may have different pricing models than those for business analysts or non-technical decision makers. Solutions with user-friendly interface, visual rule builders and natural language processing capabilities often command higher prices because they are accessible to a wider range of users.

The number of users accessing the BRE is a key factor in many pricing models. Some providers charge per seat, others offer unlimited users within certain usage thresholds. For large enterprises, negotiating custom pricing based on expected user numbers can get better terms. You need to consider not just current user needs, but also projected growth to avoid cost escalations.

Multi-tenant vs single-tenant is another pricing consideration. Multi-tenant architectures where multiple clients share the same infrastructure are often cheaper because of shared resources. Single-tenant solutions where each client has dedicated infrastructure to offer more customization and potentially higher security. The trade-off between cost savings and control depends on the industry’s security and compliance requirements.

Additional features can impact BRE pricing. Decision tables which allow complex rule management in a spreadsheet like format may be included in the base package or offered as an add-on. Version control, which is critical for maintaining rule integrity over time may also impact pricing. REST API integration options which are essential for connecting BREs to other business systems may be a factor in the pricing tiers. E-commerce specific features like dynamic pricing rules or personalized product recommendations may command higher prices because they directly impact revenue.

Performance Based Pricing: Higson Case

Higson has introduced a performance based pricing model. This new approach ties the cost of the BRE to the measurable business outcomes it produces.

For example, in an insurance context, the pricing might be linked to the reduction in fraudulent claims or the increase in straight through processing rates for policy underwriting.

Higson’s model uses a combination of metrics to measure performance. These can include decision accuracy, rule execution speed, manual intervention reduction and impact on business KPIs. This aligns the interests of the BRE provider with those of the client, so the technology delivers tangible value.

There are plenty of benefits in this model, for example it may reduce the upfront risk for the business implementing the BRE, as they only pay for results. s. It also incentivizes the provider to continuously improve and optimize the rule engine. However, there are challenges in measuring and attributing business outcomes solely to the BRE especially in complex organizations with multiple systems interacting.

Implementation Considerations

When implementing a Business Rules Engine several practical considerations will impact the overall cost and success of the project. Integration with existing systems is key. Some BREs have out of the box connectors for common enterprise systems while others will require custom integration work. The complexity of this integration will impact implementation cost and time.

Data migration and rule conversion

If an organization is moving from a legacy system or manual processes there will be costs associated with translating existing business rules into the new engine’s format. Some providers offer tools or services to help with this process which should be factored into the overall pricing.

Training and change management

The adoption of a BRE means a change in how business rules are managed and applied across the organization. Investing in comprehensive training programs for both technical and business users will maximize the value of the BRE. Some vendors include training in their pricing package while others offer it as an additional service.

Case Studies: Real World BRE Pricing and ROI

Notus Finance, a leading financial intermediary in Poland specializing in mortgages, faced the challenge of frequently changing bank offers and the need to respond rapidly to update quotes, terms, and sales processes. To address this, Notus implemented Higson, a business rules engine, as part of its new sales system for brokers.

The Challenge

• Bank offers change frequently, often with short notice
• Notus needed to update quotes, terms, and sales processes quickly in response

The Solution

• Notus evaluated three rules engine options: Drools, Camunda, and Higson
• Higson was chosen for its ability to empower business users to control the configuration, its pricing model, and its user-friendly interface

The Development

• Notus implemented Higson as part of its new broker sales system
• The first public release occurred after six months, followed by three months of responding to user feedback
• Higson helped deliver a system manageable by business users with a wide range of configuration options

Key Benefits

• Ability to create new mortgage products, cross-sell conditions, insurance pricing, marketing descriptions, and required documents
• API integration with banks and CRM systems
• Comparison of different offers and automatic application validation
• Shortened time spent on each customer

When to Use Higson as a BRMS

• Higson is best suited for rules-heavy projects in finance or insurance industries
• It enables developers to externalize complex business logic that can be modified by developers or business experts in the Higson Studio UI
• Modifications are immediately reflected in any application using the Higson Runtime library, allowing for on-the-fly changes

The case study demonstrates how Notus Finance leveraged Higson's business rules engine to streamline its mortgage sales processes, respond quickly to changing market conditions, and empower business users to manage complex rules and configurations.

Do you need a use case for yourself?

Contact us, and we'll see if business rules engine is a software for your company, and how much money it can bring to the table.

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