Yesterday’s announcement that Ray Ozzie is retiring from Microsoft is newsworthy because he has been at the heart of the company’s efforts to keep pace with the rapidly evolving Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and broader Cloud Computing movement.

Ozzie joined Microsoft when his company, Groove Networks, was acquired in 2005. Groove was an independent software vendor (ISV) trying to commercialize the groupware ideas which Ozzie had pioneered with Lotus Notes.

Around the same time as the acquisition, Bill Gates warned Microsoft’s employees of the far-reaching implications of the coming “Internet Tidal Wave” in an infamous internal memo which quickly became public and stated,

“This coming ‘services wave’ will be very disruptive…Services designed to scale to tens or hundreds of millions will dramatically change the nature and cost of solutions deliverable to enterprises or small businesses.”

Ozzie issued his own memo warning about the “The Internet Services Disruption” shortly after he arrived at Microsoft … Read More »

THINKstrategies announced today that Accept Corporation 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 is an ongoing program which recognizes SaaS companies that are producing tangible business benefits for specific user organizations. These benefits can include increased sales, lower costs, higher customer satisfaction, faster operations and greater profitability.

Accept Corporation’s SaaS-based Accept 360 Innovation Management solution empowers product teams to more quickly develop compelling products that generate greater revenues, because they’re better aligned with the market and company strategy.

Click here to read more about the measurable business benefits which earned Accept Corporation the latest BoSS Award.

Click here to learn more about the BoSS Award program or to apply for an Award.

Based on the success of the BoSS Awards program which focuses on SaaS solutions, THINKstrategies … Read More »

Many people believe there is only one way to sell Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions — via free, online trials and outbound tele-marketing tactics. Read my latest E-Commerce Times commentary to see how some SaaS companies are dispelling this myth and demonstrating how SaaS solutions can be sold in various ways. Click here to read more.

In addition to posting my views and latest THINKstrategies’ news on this blog, I’ve also become a regular contributor to the UBM TechWeb online macrosite called Internet Evolution.

In recent weeks I’ve examined the following topics,

When Cloud Terminology Backfires 
Purpose-Built Social Networks Make Corporate Inroads 
Cloud Providers Hope Dashboards Build Trust 
Telcos Invade Cloud Services 
A New Take on Cloud Standardization

Click here to find all of my Internet Evolution commentaries and comments. I hope you find them interesting.  If so, you can set up an RSS feed to follow these commentaries or follow my latest Twitter updates @thinkstrategies.

THINKstrategies announced today that ReactorNet 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 is an ongoing program which recognizes SaaS companies that are producing tangible business benefits for specific user organizations. These benefits can include increased sales, lower costs, higher customer satisfaction, faster operations and greater profitability.

ReactorNet provides a SaaS-based e-Procurement (E-PRO) platform capable of streamlining the purchase process, ensuring supplier collaboration, delivering paperless A/P and reducing spending across the board.

Click here to read about the measurable business benefits which earned ReactorNet the latest BoSS Award.

Click here to learn more about the BoSS Award program or to apply for an Award.

A list of previous winners of the BoSS Awards can be found at http://www.saas-showplace.com/registerforbossaward.html.
 
Based on the success of the BoSS Awards program which focuses on … Read More »

When Oracle announced its intention to acquire Sun Microsystems in April 2009, CEO Larry Ellison proclaimed the acquisition, “transforms the IT industry, combining best-in-class enterprise software and mission-critical computing systems.”

Although he was not ready to use the term at the time, it didn’t take long for Oracle to refer to its combined capabilities as a Cloud Computing solution set, which it recently put on full display at its annual OpenWorld conference.

The event was also a coming out party for its new President, Mark Hurd, the high flying former HP CEO who departed in disgrace only a month earlier. Hurd’s appointment wasn’t hard to understand given his hardware experience at HP and NCR, and now gives Oracle’s move into the system business even more significance.

HP has retaliated by announcing the appointment of Leo Apotheker as its new CEO, along with Ray Lane as its non-executive chairman of the board. Apotheker comes to HP … Read More »

Anyone who has been in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business for a while is well-aware that this model has a fundamental impact on every aspect of the software business. However, a growing number of established independent software vendors (ISVs) are just beginning to venture down this path and are confronting these painful realities for the first time.

Most ISVs are fixated on how SaaS changes the architecture of their applications and impacts their revenue streams. These are big issues, but SaaS disrupts traditional sales and support models as well. I had an opportunity to attend two events in the Boston area last week that addressed these two issues.

The first was a roundtable session hosted by The First Wednesday Group, an organization focused on software support issues, which examined the unique support challenges of SaaS. The session was led by Renee Bochman, Vice President of Support Services at Axeda, a provider … Read More »

THINKstrategies announced today that Earth Class Mail 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 is an ongoing program which recognizes SaaS companies that are producing tangible business benefits for specific user organizations. These benefits can include increased sales, lower costs, higher customer satisfaction, faster operations and greater profitability.

Earth Class Mail provides postal online mail management services designed to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses and international license partners. Services include: document scanning and storage, check deposit, mail and package forwarding, will-call services and secure shredding and recycling.

Click here to read the announcement about the measurable business benefits which earned Earth Class Mail a BoSS Award.

Click here to learn more about the BoSS Award program or to apply for an Award.

Based on the success … Read More »

There have been a series of acquisitions over the past few weeks which clearly illustrate how the competitive landscape in the tech industry and beyond is being fundamentally changed by the rapidly evolving cloud computing phenomenon.

The two most recent examples came this week. The first was CA Technologies’ acquisition of 4Base Technology, a virtualization and cloud infrastructure consulting firm, which CA plans to use as a cornerstone of its expanded cloud computing professional services capabilities. This is the latest in a series of acquisitions which CA has made to transform the company from a software-only to a multi-dimensional corporate portfolio which personifies its new CA Technologies company name. CA’s transformation echos the moves of other players seeking to become one-stop shops for hardware, software and services. The most significant of these was Oracle’s acquisition of Sun Microsystems.

Intel made an even more dramatic acquisition … Read More »

Mark Hurd’s sudden resignation as HP’s CEO has opened a floodgate of speculation regarding who the company will select to succeed him.

Because his departure wasn’t anticipated, there are no clear-cut internal candidates. And, because Hurd himself was a surprise selection for the post in 2006, it is possible that another little-known industry executive may be tapped again for the position this time around.

So, this creates a wonderful opportunity for anyone with a passing interest in HP’s future, and the future of the technology industry as a whole, to throw a few names in the hat.

The HP CEO position is particularly intriguing in part because it has grown to become the largest IT vendor in the industry through a series of acquisitions of Compaq, EDS and others. More importantly, HP like the rest of the IT industry is at a pivotal crossroads … Read More »