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 »

Salesforce.com unveiled its year-end 2008 financial results earlier this week and, as the company had predicted, it passed the billion dollar mark, reporting total revenues of $1.077 billion, an increase of 44%over the 2007.

This milestone event, combined with the company’s rising earnings per share growth, are clear indications of the overall strength of the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market despite the challenges of today’s tough economy.

In fact, Marc Benioff, the company’s Chairman and CEO, is quoted in the company’s press release as saying, “At a time when capital is precious, big-ticket software purchases just don’t make sense.”

I am also a firm believer that Salesforce.com’s continued growth, and that of the overall SaaS industry, will be fueled by today’s economic crisis.  IT and business decision-makers are increasingly recognizing not only the economic advantages of SaaS, but also the fact that SaaS represents a more effective method of supporting a more dispersed workforce and leveraging the latest innovations in … Read More »

Among my predictions for 2009, was that the on-demand services industry will experience a shakeout and consolidation.

I also suggested in a recent post that platform and cloud computing companies which don’t offer a combination of solid enabling technologies plus attractive channels to customers won’t survive the shakeout.

Sure enough, the rumors about the demise of Coghead have come true, and it is among the early entrants to the platform/cloud computing market who are now making an equally early departure.

Coghead may have had terrific technological capabilities, but it lacked a sufficient revenue model to stay afloat in an increasingly competitive market. As a result, investors were unwilling to continue to fund the company and it had to discontinue operations.

The primary reason Coghead couldn’t generate sufficient revenue to stay alive was that it didn’t offer enough value to attract adequate customers. It was a classic ‘Catch 22’ … Read More »

Last July, I offered my views on the similarities and differences between Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud computing. This past week, I had an opportunity to elaborate on the relationship between these two worlds and terms, along with Platforms-as-a-Service (PaaS), during a webcast hosted by Symplified entitled, “Beyond the Buzzwords”.

Then and now I believe cloud computing is an outgrowth of the success of the SaaS market and web-based, packaged applications. Cloud computing represents a rapidly growing array of web-based tools which enable users to build their own applications or utilities that can be deployed via the Internet (“cloud”) or ‘downloaded’ to an on-premise environment.

Much like the open source world, the cloud computing environment enables users to take advantage of a wide assortment of piece-parts from a variety of sources to create their own solutions for various project and production purposes. They both rely on incredibility economical development resources … Read More »

Over a year ago, I stated that the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market would be recession-proof as we entered 2008. And, last year proved to be a boom-time for nearly every SaaS company with a quality service aimed at a legitimate business need.

Now that the economy has sunken into a deeper economic decline than almost anyone anticipated, the SaaS industry is feeling the same pain that has afflicted every other major sector.

Fear, uncertainty and doubt–the classic FUD factor–has hit home in the SaaS community.

Despite the compelling business benefits of SaaS, corporate and IT decision-makers are holding back on purchases. And, corporate layoffs are cutting into the subscription levels of current contracts.

The latest victim of today’s economic realities appears to be Salesforce.com, which acknowledged at the end of last week that three corporate executives had recently left the company, including the company’s president and chief strategy officer.

Although … Read More »

I suggested in a previous blog that a new model of a ‘hybrid’ software company is emerging in which Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud computing vendors are offering downloadable appliances, or ‘applets’, which permit users to utilize their web-based solutions off-line or behind the firewall.

My friends at Salesforce.com and other SaaS zeolots in the industry said I was crazy. But, many SaaS other vendors told me they were already offering an appliance option to their customers.

This week Google endorsed my idea by announcing that it is offering a offline version of its Gmail service.

Some folks expected this functionality in 2007, when Google introduced Gears, its browser plug-in aimed at providing offline access to Web-hosted applications. In fact, Google has been offering an on-premise search appliance for a while.

I believe the Gmail announcement is another example of a growing array of offline enhancements being added to SaaS/cloud computing solutions that … Read More »

CrownPeak was named the first winner of the new Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Awards program today.

The BoSS Awards are the only industry awards aimed at promoting the measurable business benefits being delivered by today’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions. Unlike other programs which focus on technical innovation, the BoSS Awards emphasize tangible business benefits.

The BoSS Awards program was launched by THINKstrategies earlier this month 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.

CrownPeak is a Content Management System (CMS) provider that offers a SaaS solution which helps customers accelerate their Web publishing and better manage their web content. The School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) in Boston, MA, chose CrownPeak’s Content Management System (CMS) to gain greater control over its website to … Read More »

Platforms have been proliferating and it is not surprising that there are already signs we may be on the cusp of a shakeout.

Today’s platform players range from start-ups, like Bungee Labs, to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud computing movement standard-bearers, Salesforce.com and Google with Force.com and Google App Engine respectively.

This has created a somewhat confusing array of players and platform alternatives which have been divided into various segments.

This week’s announcement about Salesforce.com’s new “Service Cloud” illustrates the way SaaS vendors are leveraging platforms to redefine their business in order to extend their market reach and strengthen their position in the marketplace.

SpringCM is heading down this same path with its new platform which enables independent developers and resellers to build applications or more easily integrate to SpringCM’s electronic content management (ECM) capabilities.

Platforms enable these vendors to convert their internal technologies into development and delivery mechanisms which can be … Read More »

I received a message today from Khalid Noor Mohammed, a consultant based in Saudi Arabia, not only complementing me on my commentaries regarding Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), but also sharing two links of his discussion on Saudi TV regarding the concept of SaaS and its business benefits,

Khalid Noor Mohammed on SaaS (Part 1)
Khalid Noor Mohammed on SaaS (Part 2)

Khalid’s videos got me thinking about the power of video to simplify complex concepts and make them easier for non-technical people to comprehend. This is especially important with relatively intangible ideas like SaaS, and even more so with ‘cloud computing’.

Here are a couple of other videos which I’ve found which do a terrific job of explaining these ideas,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGUPSvswmY0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJncFirhjPg

While these videos may seem trivial to many IT professionals ensconsced in SaaS and cloud computing on a daily basis, I believe that videos are increasingly useful marketing tools … Read More »

Anyone who follows the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market knows that every major SaaS player, starting with Salesforce.com, uses the success of consumer-oriented, on-line services as the model for their business-to-business solutions.

SaaS vendors, executives and ‘experts’ (myself included) point to the way these web-based services created an enjoyable, effective and economical user experience as the centerpiece of their success.

The most prominent example of this approach has been Apple iTunes.

Ironically, Apple has never taken advantage of its prominence and positioned itself as a SaaS or cloud computing player.

It appears that this may be changing. At this past week’s MacWorld, Apple unveiled a new, web-based version of its iWork productivity suite. Just as Microsoft’s Software-Plus-Services strategy is an acknowledgement of the growing interest and adoption of web-based apps, so is Apple’s move down the same path.

Apple is also moving in this direction to build on … Read More »