VC problems could slow SaaS, cloud computing and on-demand services market growth.

My views in a recent blog post about how cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) relate to one another generated some interesting feedback. So, I’ve decided to delve in the cloud computing topic again to see if it can produce a similar response.

A few years ago, as the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market began to pick up steam, a debate emerged about whether the SaaS term was the right label for this new movement. Many industry insiders became concerned that SaaS was too techie a term, and proposed an assortment of alternatives they thought would appeal more to mainstream IT and business decision-makers. Some, like ‘webware’, had their own techiness. Others were too convoluted to gain any acceptance. In the end, SaaS has won general approval because it has a clear enough meaning for most people to understand.

Although a similar debate hasn’t emerged … Read More »

This past week’s SaaScon gathering in Santa Clara, CA, gave the rapidly growing SaaS industry another opportunity to take stock of its current state and where it is headed.

I was very pleased to serve as the event’s Master of Ceremonies and a member of the Advisory Board—along with Amy Wohl and Phil Wainwright—that helped to shape the conference agenda and recruit the speakers.

The event drew well over twice the number of attendees and sponsors of our inaugural conference last September. And, this was despite facing competition from the SIIA’s Software Strategy Summit and the Web 2.0 conference taking place in San Francisco.

SaaScon gave a wide array of companies—large and small, new and ‘old’—an opportunity to present and learn about the opportunities and challenges surrounding ‘on-demand’ services. The mix of formal sessions and informal networking gave everyone plenty to digest. It … Read More »

This week, NetSuite, Inc., strengthened its position in the on-demand software market by announcing a new set of eCommerce solutions to manage eBay online sales.

The new alliance capitalizes on one of the largest pools of small- and mid-size businesses (SMBs) in the world. eBay is a channel to market which I’ve been telling many Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies should be a key component of their go-to-market strategies.

NetSuite’s expanded on-demand business management capabilities will enable millions of businesses selling goods and services via eBay to leverage a single, integrated platform to handle their inventory, warehouse management, accounting, sales, marketing and hosting requirements.

NetSuite’s multi-lingual and multi-currency recognition system will also enable eBay businesses to manage their international listings including scheduling, order management, fulfillment and shipping processes.

The turnkey, all-in-one package should appeal to many eBay sellers who are quickly growing from home-based endeavors to … Read More »

On February 14, Valentine’s Day, Verizon Business—a unit of Verizon Communications—announced the expansion of its business continuity services portfolio that illustrates how major telecommunications carriers are broadening their capabilities and reshaping the competitive landscape.

While most people who follow the telecommunications market refer to the ‘triple-play’ being offered by the leading ISPs as a bundle of telephone, internet and TV services, Verizon Business’ latest announcement shows how the carriers are also creating another form of triple-play which includes consulting, hosting and software services.

In the case of Verizon Business’ business continuity services, the first part is a set of consulting services that includes business impact analyses, gap analyses, strategy workshops, asset inventories and vulnerability assessments.

The second component is the company’s hosting portfolio which leverages its global network of data centers and includes a virtual file sharing service—Resilient Network Attached Storage—with centralized file … Read More »

Cisco Systems’ announcement that it will acquire IronPort Systems, Inc. of San Bruno, CA, on January 4, 2007, could add a new dimension to the networking leader’s arsenal.

IronPort is more than just a leading provider of messaging security appliances that combat spam and spyware. It continuously updates its appliances via a service delivery capability which gives Cisco a new managed security services capability.

Managed security services (MSS) have grown in popularity over the years as the rate of new security threats has escalated. Historically, organizations have had to dedicate their inhouse staff to the endless task of continuously battling the latest security threats. Now, an increasing proportion of organizations, both corporations and government agencies, are recognizing that it makes more sense to enlist the help of specialized firms with greater security expertise and experience to perform this function. This permits the … Read More »

The start of a new year is always a good time to pull out the crystal ball to anticipate what’s in store over the next twelve months. Here’s what I foresee for the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Managed Services markets.

SaaS Goes Mainstream

In many ways, I firmly believe SaaS achieved mainstream status in 2006 because an increasing proportion of individuals and businesses were willing to give SaaS a try to satisfy their day-to-day software needs.

Much of the momentum has been driven by the explosion of on-demand, consumer-oriented services. As individuals have comfortable taking advantage of on-demand audio, video, storage and security services in their personal lives, they are also beginning to expect the same ease of use and economic advantages in their professional, work lives.

Over the course of the past year, 64% of the people visiting THINKstrategies’ SaaS Showplace who chose to … Read More »

Continuing to push the envelope, Salesforce.com announced its new AppStore today, and boldly entered the on-line payment transaction management business.

Building on the momentum of its successful AppExchange platform and clearinghouse for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers, Salesforce.com has taken the next step in becoming an end-to-end mechanism for independent software vendors (ISVs) looking for help developing and marketing their on-demand solutions.

In October, Salesforce.com unveiled a new Apex developer’s toolkit at its Dreamforce conference. Apex is aimed at making it easier for customers and partners to customize Salesforce’s applications.

Now, Salesforce.com is making it easier for its AppExchange partners to sell their solutions via the web. The new AppStore will include a two-tier referral program and automated checkout capabilities. ISVs can choose between a standard or premium referral service. The standard service includes search engine optimization and other marketing services for a 10 percent … Read More »

On November 30, 2006, Business Objects announced its intention to acquire Nsite Software, Inc., a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider of channel, quote and proposal management applications that has been shifting its focus towards developing a library of enabling tools for SaaS developers.

Like a growing number of SaaS providers, Nsite has been migrating from a product-centric to a platform orientation. This shift has been inspired by Salesforce.com’s success with its AppExchange initiative which has clearly shown a strong platform can also become a magnet for a potent partner ‘ecosystem’ that can exponentially expand a SaaS provider’s market reach.

Business Objects’ acquisition of Nsite enables the business intelligence software vendor to leverage Nsite’s on-demand application platform and engineers to accelerate its internal development efforts. It also gives Business Objects access to approximately 27,000 Nsite subscribers.

Like many established, publicly-traded independent software vendors (ISVs), Business Objects … Read More »

Some industry observers and independent software vendors (ISVs) suggest that Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is just another way of delivering software. They use this argument to discount the significance of the SaaS movement and suggest that delivering software as a service will become commonplace in a few years.

What these observers and vendors overlook is the structural impact this trend will bring to more than just the software industry. As a consequence, traditional companies will be forced to redefine how they look at software and services. In fact, as I suggested in a previous blog we are already seeing a breakdown in the line of demarcation between the software and business services industries.

The first indication of this phenomena came in August when ADP acquired software services company Employease. This deal brought together ADP’s well-known payroll services with Employease’s less-known, but rapidly growing, on-demand … Read More »