Tag: Software-as-a-Service


How ISVs Can Cross the Chasm to the Cloud – A Guest Commentary in Sandhill.com

Posted by thinkstrategies in Uncategorized. Comments Off on How ISVs Can Cross the Chasm to the Cloud – A Guest Commentary in Sandhill.com

27th March

One of the most frightening issues facing incumbent software vendors (ISVs) is how to convert their operations from a perpetual license to a subscription service business model. This challenge is especially daunting for publicly traded ISVs that face the scrutiny of investors hypersensitive to any downturn in revenues or profitability. One company that has made the treacherous journey across this chasm and is beginning to see the rewards of its efforts is Callidus Software, which has rebranded itself CallidusCloud.

Click here to read THINKstrategies’ perspectives in Sandhill.com regarding how ISVs can ‘cross the chasm’ to deliver profitable Cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions.



Delving Into Cloud Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in Dublin

Posted by thinkstrategies in Uncategorized. Comments Off on Delving Into Cloud Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in Dublin

7th March

I’ve just returned from my third visit to Dublin where once again I participated in another terrific event hosted by Enterprise Ireland aimed at helping local software companies, both incumbent software vendors (ISVs) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies, capitalize on the rapidly evolving Cloud Computing market.

My prior visits to Dublin were to help Enterprise Ireland organize and host full-day symposiums regarding SaaS opportunities in 2006-2007. The specific focus of this week’s half-day workshop was Cloud Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The event attracted 105 CXOs from a wide array of Irish ISVs and SaaS companies.

I was joined at the workshop by Evanegelos Simoudis, Senior Managing Director, Trident Capital, LinkedIN Profile, who provided metrics of breakout Cloud/SaaS companies; Brian Caulfield, Partner, DFJ Esprit, LinkedIN Profile, who discussed the investors’ perspective re: key considerations and criteria for investing in Cloud companies; and Fergus Gloster, Managing Director EMEA, Marketo, LinkedIn Profile, … Read More »



Bringing SaaS to the Masses – An E-Commerce Times Commentary

Posted by thinkstrategies in Uncategorized. Comments Off on Bringing SaaS to the Masses – An E-Commerce Times Commentary

8th February

One of the age-old challenges that has plagued the software industry, like many others, is how vendors can reach small- and mid-sized businesses with their software products. A new trend is emerging that promises to help SMBs take full advantage of cloud computing — the proliferation of easy-to-use marketplaces focusing on business-oriented SaaS apps. App store hosting companies are working with major retailers like Staples, which offers its own App Center, as well as with nonprofits that support small businesses, such as state and local chambers of commerce.

Click here to read THINKstrategies’ perspective in E-Commerce Times on this trend and its potential to unlock the key to selling SaaS to SMBs.



SaaS Marketplaces Are Ready to Soar

Posted by thinkstrategies in Uncategorized. Comments Off on SaaS Marketplaces Are Ready to Soar

10th August

Now that Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and the broader cloud computing concept have gained widespread recognition and acceptance, it will be interesting to see whether online marketplaces will become a preferred method for acquiring these on-demand resources.

Given the proliferation of SaaS/cloud providers and solutions, it makes sense that many IT and business decision makers would like to take advantage of a “one-stop shop” where they can procure multiple SaaS apps and cloud services.

Online marketplaces also appeal to a growing number of service providers that want to expand their service portfolios to offer their customers more solutions designed to deepen their account penetration, create new revenue streams, and increase their stickiness in an increasingly competitive market.

Click here to read my views on the future direction of SaaS marketplaces in E-Commerce Times.



eMaint Enterprises Wins Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Award

Posted by thinkstrategies in Uncategorized. Comments Off on eMaint Enterprises Wins Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Award

30th July

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

The BoSS Awards are part of an ongoing THINKstrategies Cloud Computing Showplace campaign to recognize SaaS companies producing tangible business benefits for specific user organizations. These benefits can include increased sales, lower costs, higher customer satisfaction, faster operations and greater profitability.

eMaint is a leading provider of on-demand computerized maintenance management software (CMMS) solutions and was one of the first CMMS providers to develop a completely web-based “Software-as-a-Service” (SaaS) model for more rapid implementation at a lower total cost of ownership (TCO). eMaint’s client base consists of over 16000 users worldwide across 1000 sites ranging from small & medium sized organizations to Fortune 500 corporations including manufacturers, … Read More »



Worry About Your SaaS, Not Your IaaS

Posted by thinkstrategies in Uncategorized. Comments Off on Worry About Your SaaS, Not Your IaaS

28th July

A combination of macro-market forces is driving companies of all sizes to adopt Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions to better support their employees, serve their customers and coordinate with their business partners. These forces are also attracting a proliferation of players and creating intense competition which makes it increasingly important for SaaS vendors to focus on their core competency – creating clearly differentiated software solutions – rather than deal with the complexities of managing their own service delivery infrastructures in a highly volatile marketplace.

Click here to read my recent blogpost, published on behalf of Rackspace, that outlines why SaaS companies should partner with Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) providers to handle their service delivery requirements so they can focus on their core business of developing and marketing successful SaaS solutions.



Five Reasons Why It’s Time for CIOs in Mid-Sized Businesses to Move to the Cloud

Posted by thinkstrategies in Uncategorized. Comments Off on Five Reasons Why It’s Time for CIOs in Mid-Sized Businesses to Move to the Cloud

17th December

Despite numerous market research forecasts predicting that small- and mid-size businesses (SMBs) would be in the vanguard of adopting today’s rapidly expanding array of Cloud-based services, the truth is that most mid-sized businesses have been slow to join the migration to these ‘on-demand’ alternatives.

In too many cases, it has been hesitancy or even overt resistance among IT decision-makers within mid-sized businesses which has let to these organizations staying away from Cloud services.

THINKstrategies believes there are 5 reasons why it’s time for CIOs in mid-sized businesses to move to the Cloud,

It’s Safe: Too many IT decision-makers in mid-sized businesses continue to be afraid of the perceived security, reliability and performance risks associated with the Cloud. The fact is that the leading Cloud service providers have more stringent security precautions in place and far higher uptime records than most mid-sized businesses can boast. 
Your … Read More »


FinancialForce.com Wins Best of SaaS Showplace Award

Posted by thinkstrategies in Uncategorized. Comments Off on FinancialForce.com Wins Best of SaaS Showplace Award

4th April

THINKstrategies, Inc., the leading strategic consulting company focused on the business implications of the on-demand services market, announced today that FinancialForce.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 is an ongoing program of THINKstrategies’ new Cloud Computing Showplace 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.

FinancialForce.com focuses entirely on building business applications on Force.com, the Cloud Computing platform from salesforce.com, including accounting, billing, professional services automation (PSA) and services resource planning (SRP). Its applications help fast-growing organizations and dynamic enterprises align Finance, Sales and Service in a way that enables profitable growth. The company is a joint venture of UNIT4 and … Read More »


TrackVia Wins THINKstrategies' Cloud Computing Business Value Award

Posted by thinkstrategies in Uncategorized. Comments Off on TrackVia Wins THINKstrategies' Cloud Computing Business Value Award

21st March

THINKstrategies, Inc.  announced today that TrackVia has been named the latest winner of THINKstrategies’ new Cloud Computing Business Value (CCBV) Awards program, which is aimed at promoting the measurable business benefits being delivered by today’s cloud computing solutions.

The CCBV Awards program was launched in 2010 to recognize Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) providers delivering tangible business benefits to specific user organizations. These benefits include lower costs, faster deployment times, greater profitability, etc.

TrackVia is a provider of an application development platform designed to make it easier for business users to build their own database-driven applications and avoid the backlogs which typically plague IT and traditional inhouse software development organizations.

Click here to read about the measurable business benefits which earned TrackVia THINKstrategies’ latest CCBV Award.

Click here to learn more about THINKstrategies’ CCBV Award program or to apply for an Award.

The CCBV Award program builds on the success of THINKstrategies’ Best of SaaS Showplace … Read More »


Corralling the Social Cloud for Business Purposes

Posted by thinkstrategies in Uncategorized. Comments Off on Corralling the Social Cloud for Business Purposes

5th March

Salesforce.com unveiled a series of important enhancements to its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) service-desk management capabilities this week aimed at helping businesses more effectively track and respond to the escalating volume of data feeds from Facebook and Twitter.

The company’s Service Cloud 3.0 announcement coincided with its CloudForce 2011 event at the Javits Center in NYC, in the backyard of ‘Corporate America’, the financial services sector and the traditional media world to maximize its attention.

The new round of enhancements were primarily focused on enabling users of Salesforce.com’s service-desk management platform to better monitor Facebook and Twitter feeds, and track their response to comments, complaints and other service requests via these increasingly important social networks.

Salesforce.com made sure to brand each feature as a separate offer to ensure it gained as much attention as possible, including Salesforce.com for Facebook and Salesforce.com for Twitter.

The new monitoring capabilities are actually enabled … Read More »





The Latest from THINK IT Services Blog

THINK IT Services Blog examines the business implications of the latest developments in the technology services market ranging from Cloud Computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) to Managed Services and other forms of 'On-Demand' services.

Catalant Profile and Perspectives Regarding Cloud and SaaS

Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege of becoming affiliated with the rapidly growing Catalant expert network which has enabled me to extend...

Yooz Wins Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Award
Cloud Service Intelligently Streamlines the Accounts Payable (AP) Workflow Process

THINKstrategies announced today that Yooz has been named a winner of the Best of SaaS...

Why Salesforce’s Latest Big Gamble Is On APIs – A Guest Commentary in E-Commerce Times

Anyone who has attempted to adopt Salesforce cloud solutions in an enterprise environment knows that it may not be as easy as expected...