There have been a series of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)/cloud computing research reports and industry rumors which have emerged over the past few days and weeks which I haven’t had a chance to comment on because of my hectic travel and work schedule.

I’d ordinarily try to dedicate a standalone blog post to each of them, but don’t have the time and don’t want to give them more attention than they deserve. But, I have had a number of clients and friends ask me for my opinion on these developments, so here’s a quick round-up of my thoughts.

Will Oracle Buy Salesforce.com?  This rumor popped up again this week in a Wedge Partners research report summarized on Barron’s Tech Daily website. I suggested this scenario two years ago, and still think there is a chance that Larry Ellison will make a hostile bid for … Read More »

Debating the meaning of ‘cloud computing’ has become a popular pastime among analysts, journalists, vendors and even customers.

The latest entrant into the discussion is the Wall Street Journal which published an article today entitled, “The Internet Industry Is on a Cloud — Whatever That May Mean.” (Registration may be required.)

In addition to raising the fundamental question about how to properly define cloud computing, the WSJ article also mentions Oracle CEO/Chairman’s Larry Ellison’s comments over the past few years downplaying the market opportunity for cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions.

Although I’ve offered my own views on this topic before in this space, here are some additional thoughts in response to the WSJ article:

1. What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing is a set of web-based enabling tools and services which permit users to acquire computing capabilities to build or support applications, or perform … Read More »

Dell’s announcement today of a new EqualLogic PS6000 series of storage arrays might appear to be a straightforward attempt to elevate the company’s stature in enterprise data centers. But, I think the company has an opportunity to aim higher than that.

Dell has always been about providing better computers at a lower price by finding economies at every stage of the development and delivery supply-chain. Some call this commoditizing markets. Others see it disintermediating the channel. Anyway you look at it, from its inception, Dell has been in the business of redefining and disrupting the way the computer industry operates.

Dell helped to bring PCs and laptops to the masses via direct online sales. It made it easy for companies to acquire servers in the same fashion. Now, Dell is setting its sites on transforming the way companies operate their data centers by leveraging … Read More »

NTRglobal has been named the latest winner of the Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Awards program, which is aimed at promoting the measurable business benefits being delivered by today’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions.

The BoSS Awards program was announced in January 2009 as the latest initiative by THINKstrategies to bring attention to SaaS and cloud computing companies which are producing tangible business benefits for specific user organizations. These benefits include increased sales, lower costs, higher customer satisfaction, faster operations, and greater profitability.

NTRglobal is a leading provider of remote support and management of enduser devices for IT service desks and managed service providers (MSPs). NTRadmin is a SaaS services solution for automating IT tasks with NTRadmin customizable BOTs and remote network management which enables IT system administrators to control, monitor and secure hardware and software assets regardless of geographical location.

A case study example … Read More »

One of my predictions for 2009 was that this would be the year of the channel in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market.

While the direct sales and delivery model associate with SaaS fundamentally disrupts the traditional role of the channel, the SaaS industry still needs to establish an successful channel strategy to cost-effectively extend its footprint across various market segments and win greater mainstream adoption.

In addition to relying on various resellers as channels to market, legacy software vendors also viewed other independent software vendors (ISVs) as potential channel partners because they extended their software functionality into new market segments. The same holds true in the SaaS industry.

The latest example of this strategy is NetSuite’s announcement that it is putting greater emphasis on its ISV partnering efforts via a new SuiteCloud Developer Network (SDN) and SuiteApp.com single-source online marketplace.

These new offerings are not … Read More »

THINKstrategies, Inc. announced today that Daptiv has been named the latest winner of the Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Awards program, which is aimed at promoting the measurable business benefits being delivered by today’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions.

The BoSS Awards program was announced in January 2009 as the latest initiative by THINKstrategies to bring attention to SaaS and cloud computing companies which are producing tangible business benefits for specific user organizations. These benefits include increased sales, lower costs, higher customer satisfaction, faster operations, and greater profitability.

Daptiv is a leading provider on-demand, collaborative business solutions, including Project Portfolio Management (PPM) capabilities. A case example of the measurable business benefits of Daptiv’s on-demand PPM capabilities is Chase Paymentech Solutions, LLC.

Click here to read more.

I moderated a panel at OpSource’s SaaS Summit this week entitled “Selling SaaS to the Enterprise” which included representatives from Cast Iron Systems, Oracle and the Business Objects unit of SAP, as well as the Manager of Global Operations Business Technology at Pfizer.

They all agreed that SaaS and cloud computing are making serious inroads into the enterprise but still face significant challenges, including scalability, security and flexibility issues.

In response to the flexibility topic, there was general consensus among the panelists that customers want a choice of on-premise and on-demand alternatives to serve various corporate requirements.

Although I’m very proud to have correctly predicted many of the major trends which have shaped the SaaS market evolution, I’ve never believed that the world would move entirely to an all on-demand environment for a variety of customer and vendor-driven reasons. Therefore, I’ve always expected … Read More »

Amazon’s latest pricing changes might make its cloud computing services more palatable to some IT decision-makers within enterprises, but doesn’t address the fundamental concerns of business decision-makers who are still unwilling to leverage its radical new capabilities.

While reducing costs is a key driver of cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), trust is the most important reason why companies of all sizes decide to fully engage with a vendor. Trust is achieved by delivering the functionality you promise, but also by providing the support they need in case something goes wrong.

Until Amazon and other cloud computing vendors are able to provide this level of support, it will not be a key component of enterprises’ computing strategies.

Support is more than offering SLAs. Support means giving customers someone to contact or even call when there is a problem or they have a question.

In contrast, one of the … Read More »

TimeTrade Systems has been named the latest winner of the Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Awards program, which is aimed at promoting the measurable business benefits being delivered by today’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions.

TimeTrade Systems is a provider of SaaS-based, customer self-service appointment scheduling solutions for enterprises and individuals.

TimeTrade’s Enterprise Scheduling Application, TESA, provides large organizations, who must schedule thousands of appointments a year, the ability to provide self-service or assisted-service scheduling through SaaS.
 
An example of the business benefits of TimeTrade’s SaaS solution is Bosley, the leader in surgical hair restoration. The company has over 100 patient service representatives (PSRs) and must schedule more than 9,000 appointments per month at 88 offices through a single call center. For each appointment, the schedules of 26 physicians and 50 senior counselors’ have to be coordinated.
 
Bosley implemented an on-premise version of Siebel for CRM … Read More »

Among my predictions for 2009, was that the new Obama administration would push legislation and take other initiatives to promote Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud computing as part of its overhaul of the government and economic stimulus efforts.

Sure enough, Obama’s new CIO–Vivek Kundra–made it clear yesterday that he is a big proponent of SaaS and cloud computing. Here’s what he said to the Wall Street Journal,

“I’m a big believer in disruptive technology. If I went to the coffee shop, I would have more computing power than the police department. Consumers had better technology than the government did. I’m all about the cloud computing notion. I look at my lifestyle, and I want access to information wherever I am. I am killing projects that don’t investigate software as a service first.”

Support for SaaS and cloud computing isn’t only coming from the top … Read More »