Virtual currencies in the consumer space seem to always act as the primary currencies for regular transactions, eventually leading to more engagement/loyalty and therefore into future cash transactions. I would think that virtual currency in a B2B setting would usually be supplemental, like a rewards program execution.

In your example, you already have paying customers, so virtual currency would more likely be utilized as a secondary reward tied to level of activity/tenure. However, there are some interesting executions of secondary currencies in online services that allow for easier handling of micropayments if the pricing of the transactions is small enough to be a deterrent to credit cards, etc. or if the service is easily translated into usage rates. For example, check out MailChimp pay-as-you-go pricing (http://www.mailchimp.com/pricing/). Users buy credits that don't expire and only use as needed, rather then paying subscription. This is a strong option for customers who are not ready to commit, but the outstanding prepaid credits then become a new accounting & customer service situation for your business to consider.

The other direction your question could take is whether or not you as a business could accept another virtual currency for your services. Seems like the decision maker for that is if it opens the door to a new group of users that otherwise wouldn't try your services - could be a nice way to encourage trial, but would only be acceptable long-term if you could easily convert back to cash via the currency provider.

Virtual currencies can be thought of in three ways. The first is in the most traditional sense of currency. Party 1 exchanges X amount of currency for some good or service with party 2. If this is done between two companies that use each others services or a group of companies that use each others service, that kind of virtual economy could save some costs; however the increase in complexity of those transactions would likely make any implementation of that scenario to be very tricky.

The second is the use of the virtual currency to be used as discounts; this implementation would not be that different from the use of simple "cash" discounts, but they may add perceived value. While more commonly seen in consumer programs (credit cards, rewards programs); this method would likely be less successful in a B2B environment.

A previous answer talked about the use of virtual currency as a money pool of sorts. This third model is also seen in more traditional items like phone cards. If you are charging per use, this kind of model may help you achieve a level of scale per transaction that allows you to boost your margins. Alternatively, it may also offer a way to profitably deviate from a subscription model, without having a customer pay up front for the entire product.

Looking specifically at your current pricing strategy and product offerings, I would guess that the target market for Prophet is small and medium sized businesses. If that is the case, the current strategy of offering perpetual software licenses and a monthly subscription model doesn't offer a solution for a business that might want multiple licenses for light use. A virtual currency/use based model would allow many people to try your product for low cost. If they keep using the product, those customers may eventually become monthly subscription customers. Both of those pricing models have advantages over a perpetual license sale in that they provide you with a more consistent revenue stream. It might be the case that a virtual currency/use based model and a subscription model may be a more effective pricing structure than the current perpetual/subscription license model.

iSafeTrade.com is using credits as a virtual currency (http://www.isafetrade.com/pricing). One of the benefits of virtual currency is that you can give bonus credits to incentivize users to contribute to the website without giving away cash.