THINKstrategies announced today that SchoolDude.com 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.

SchoolDude.com provides a suite of on-demand operations management solutions that help school districts, private schools, and universities save money and time by managing their IT, facilities, and business operations more efficiently. This includes functions such as preventive maintenance, facility work order management, inventory management, IT incident and IT asset management, community use scheduling, and utility use tracking … Read More »

I had the privilege of visiting Copenhagen, Denmark, for the first time this past week to give keynote presentations at ComputerWorld’s Top 100 Award ceremony and the first Hosting Day Conference held in the city. I also met with an assortment of local cloud computing entrepreneurs and a variety of established players pursuing Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) opportunities in the Nordic region.

I was invited to participate in these events by Anders Trolle-Schultz, the founder of SaaS-it Consult Ltd. and organizer of the Hosting Day conference. I knew little about Anders or his consulting business when I sent him an email in June to congratulate him on publishing a terrific column in the Sandhill Group newsletter, entitled “Software as a Service: It’s About the Business Model, Stupid!”

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Anders was a fan of my writings as well, and … Read More »

THINKstrategies announced today that Verio has been named the latest winner of the Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Awards program 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.

Verio is the leading provider in delivering online business solutions to SMBs worldwide. Distributed through its global network of OEM and via Verio channel partners, Verio’s solutions provide web hosting, application hosting and SaaS that enables SMBs to drive online success. Verio is a subsidiary of NTT Communications, one of the largest companies in the world and supports its … Read More »

THINKstrategies unveiled today a new Primer aimed at helping Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) develop and deliver successful Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions.

The SaaS Primer for ISVs is based on our extensive experience working with a wide array of SaaS providers, and indepth understanding of the rapidly changing expectations of IT and business decision-makers within organizations of all sizes and across nearly every industry.

Click here to learn more about the new Primer.

THINKstrategies announced today that Helpstream 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 has been initiated 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.

Helpstream integrates social Web technologies with modern customer service and collaboration processes to drive effective customer and partner engagement across all business functions. Helpstream’s SaaS design makes it fast to deploy, easy-to-use and affordable. It’s solution can be deployed as a complete customer service system or as an integrated self-service and community case resolution complement to existing CRM systems.

Click here to read more … Read More »

Last year, I predicted that 2009 would be the year of the channel in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market and a growing number of SaaS industry leaders have obliged me by expanding their sales efforts in this direction.

The latest is Salesforce.com which announced today that it is launching a new value-added reseller (VAR) program to encourage third-party companies to build on its Force.com platform and extend the reach of its AppExchange into new market segments.

Salesforce.com’s announcement comes on the heels of NetSuite’s recent enhancements to its VAR program aimed at strengthening its position in the market.

Because of Salesforce.com’s greater prominence in the marketplace, its new initiative is bound to bring even more attention to the rapidly evolving role of channel companies in the SaaS market. In Salesforce.com’s case, there move represents an important milestone in the company’s evolution and that of the … Read More »

THINKstrategies announced today that Adaptive Planning 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 initiated 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.

Adaptive Planning is a leading provider of on-demand budgeting, forecasting and reporting solutions that help finance organizations improve operational efficiency, strengthen collaboration, and drive better business decisions in companies of all sizes.

Click here to read about Adaptive Planning’s award-winning SaaS capabilities.

Click here to read about the BoSS Awards program and to apply for an award.

After chairing last week’s Cloud World conference in San Francisco last week, I’m pleased to be serving as the chairman of the Cloud Futures for Software Vendors Conference taking place in San Jose, CA, this October 5 – 6.
 
This event is for established software vendors who are attempting to overcome the challenges associated with migrating to a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud computing model so they can capitalize on this rapidly growing market.
 
The conference will include speakers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Forrester Research and Cloud Security Alliance, along with presentations by representatives of many leading vendors in the SaaS and cloud computing industry, including Amazon Web Services, IBM, Salesforce.com, LiveOps, Callidus Software, Enomaly and others.
 
Our goal is to help software vendors achieve:

CLOUD ECO-SYSTEM EXCELLENCE: Identify the partners you need to get your SaaS off the ground … Read More »

THINKstrategies announced today that Widen Enterprises 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 an 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.

Widen Enterprises, provides premedia and color management services specifically for assisting customers with building brand equity and supporting consistent brand representation across print and Web communications. Through its suite of Web-based digital asset management applications, Widen software services provide marketing networks with real-time Web-based access to the clients’ digital asset libraries, subsequently eliminating manual search and file preparation time, costs related to replacing images and videos that … Read More »

A combination of work, travel and summertime distractions have prevented me from commenting on a series of small, yet significant announcements and activities over the past couple of weeks in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud computing market.

My latest travels started last week at Pacific Crest’s 11th Annual Technology Leadership Forum in Vail, CO, where I met with a series of the investment firm’s ‘buy-side’ clients as a part of its Mosaic program, and interacted with a variety of cloud computing executives and VCs in a SaaS workshop.

Nearly all of Pacific Crest’s clients are concerned about the financial implications of the cloud computing movement on their large-cap investments in companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and SAP on the software side, and IBM, HP, EMC, Dell and other systems vendors on the hardware side. They are also curious about whether Amazon, Google, Salesforce.com, SuccessFactors and other upstart SaaS/cloud companies can … Read More »