Randy Lea agrees. "Success for the beta participant is to see realized features and growth in the [vendor] partnership," says Lea, vice president of products and services at Teradata.

And there may be a financial benefit as well. "Successful beta participation leads to a lower cost of implementation," says Kathy Lang, CIO at Marquette University in Milwaukee. That's because fast turnaround on issues uncovered, as well as support-team and end-user readiness, contribute to a smoother production installation when the beta is complete. "There may also be the incentive of a lower price," Lang says.

Vendors provide prerelease products to beta users at no charge, and some sweeten the deal. For example, Charleston, S.C.-based Blackbaud Inc., a developer of software for the nonprofit sector, offers its beta users the opportunity to earn "beta bucks," which can be used to offset the cost of other Blackbaud products and services.

Bucky Wall, release manager at Blackbaud, oversees the group that's responsible for product stabilization and release. "Beta is the main thing that occurs during stabilization," says Wall.

In an effort to double the number of beta testers this year, he is targeting user groups. Other vendors canvass at conferences, ask salespeople to recommend candidates and invite customers that have formally submitted requirements. Vendors may even mine technical support logs to identify potential beta participants.