SandHill.com Blogs

On-Demand/SaaS Reality: The ROI Revival: SaaS Company Takes Value Measurement to the Next Level

Shawn Santos — 2008-08-18T10:58:10-08:00

When the next big thing from Apple or Microsoft is introduced, it doesn’t arrive quietly. On the contrary, these products are vigilantly tracked through the R&D life cycle by analysts, the press, The Street, and deliberately timed press releases. The launches are a big deal – even the ads are celebrated.

Return Leaders: A Q and A with Jon Craton, Founder, Cramer Systems Ltd.

Javier Rojas — 2008-08-14T10:19:03-08:00

Best Practices: Software Sales: Defeat the Commodity Trap: 3 Three Steps To Differentiation and Growth

Elizabeth K. Cook — 2008-08-08T10:39:53-08:00

Buying has changed. It’s no secret. Most companies selling in business-to-business markets face commoditization of products and services. Forces in the marketplace make it increasingly difficult to create sustainable competitive differentiation.

Best Practices: Software Marketing: Breaking Security

Guy Smith — 2008-08-04T10:05:43-08:00

Sometimes the only way to win a market is to break it.

The Impact of Merger Mania: IBM Puts the Rules Down

Tony Baer — 2008-08-01T10:13:42-08:00

In the aftermath of IBM’s announcement of intent to buy Ilog, it would be all too easy for us to reflect back on a conversation with Ilog’s CEO Pierre Haren last winter at its annual user conference covering survival in the software industry. Haren’s description of the typical life of a software vendor is that first you get a handful of successful references, then replicate to at least 20 – 30 successful accounts, then you start thinking about what your company wants to do when it grows up. Start specializing your solution for vertical sectors or other specialized sectors of the market, or you must change your role and move on. Haren’s implicit message: eat or be eaten.

Software in the Cloud: The CIO is the Last to Know

Billy Marshall — 2008-07-25T10:39:28-08:00

A recent Goldman Sachs survey of CIOs indicates that these executives do not plan to spend much money on cloud computing in the coming year. Indeed, most of their stated plans involve reducing the amount of consulting services and hardware that they are buying. I'm certain the predictions are accurate, and this scenario will lead to even more rapid growth in cloud computing. And the CIO will be the last to know.

On-Demand/SaaS Reality: In SaaS, It’s About the “Sales Velocity”

Evangelos Simoudis — 2008-07-21T10:51:16-08:00

In the paper "Investing in Companies that Deliver Software as a Service", I described the reasons Trident is aggressively investing in companies that offer software as a service (SaaS) and presented the companies in our SaaS portfolio. As we have been building these companies, we have come to appreciate the importance of sales velocity in a SaaS company's success.

Voice of the Customer: Software Holds Up Better in Q4 Than Most Sectors

Sarah Friar, Goldman Sachs — 2008-07-17T10:58:40-08:00

New Era, New Thinking: Who’s Making Money on the Web?

Bruce LaFetra — 2008-07-14T10:16:58-08:00

While failure for the high-tech entrepreneur is less likely to result in death, the parallels between the Gold Rush and the current Web-based economy are many. In both cases, participants must to adapt to a new way of life, with new rules. Or rather, no pre-existing, fixed rules.

Best Practices: Software Sales: Where Have All the Prospects Gone?

Jill Konrath — 2008-07-11T10:57:25-08:00

When I was growing up, the folk rock trio of Peter, Paul & Mary sang an anti-war protest song called, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" It's funny how after all these years that this tune came roaring back to me as I was thinking about disappearing prospects.

The Impact of Merger Mania: Oracle to BEA Customers: No Surprise Here

Tony Baer — 2008-07-03T10:02:46-08:00

Oracle finally placed its cards down on the table regarding its roadmap for BEA products, and for the most part there’s little surprise. As Gavin Clarke reported several weeks ago, Oracle will be deconstructing AquaLogic. But taking a cue from its Applications Unlimited Strategy, Oracle is telling BEA customers that it will support all existing BEA products, regardless of whether they wind up on maintenance.

Enabling Innovation: How the Right Testing Tools, Strategies and Organizational Culture Can Minimize Software Defects

Shanthi Sridhar — 2008-07-01T10:01:33-08:00

Here is a software development understatement: Ensuring software quality can be extremely challenging.

The Virtualization Opportunity: Going Virtual? Stay True to Software Licensing Rules

Jeff Kelsey — 2008-06-30T10:57:45-08:00

Over 50 percent of enterprises have adopted virtualization to one degree or another, according to a study by research firm TheInfoPro, making it one of the most rapidly adopted technologies in recent years. But while virtualization opens up an entirely new world of possibilities for organizations that embrace it, the benefits do not come without old world legal risk. Specifically, few organizations have begun to grasp the software licensing implications of deploying virtual servers and software, not to mention the subsequent challenges of upholding the terms of their existing license agreements. Read on to ensure you can develop the necessary processes and controls to effectively track and manage your software compliance status in a virtualized world.

On-Demand/SaaS Reality: Warning: Don’t Adopt SaaS in Increments

Michael Mace — 2008-06-27T10:23:08-08:00

Like an oyster, software as a service business models are best consumed in one gulp rather than nibbled over time.

Voice of the Customer: Agility by Design: Building Business Software to Last

Helene Abrams — 2008-06-23T10:34:09-08:00

Enterprise applications must continually change in order to support the ongoing business changes of the enterprise. Enabling and facilitating those changes, so that they can occur with a minimum of cost and business disruption is the essence of designing for agility. The backbone of potential design agility is most often the enterprise resource planning (ERP) application, whether it is the Oracle Business Suite, SAP, or another similar system. In larger firms, of course, the ERP systems do not run in isolation – the ERP systems are to differing degrees supplemented, complemented, and duplicated by other applications. The average Fortune 1000 company has approximately 300 different “enterprise” systems. Nevertheless, since the ERP systems contains the most central data and business processes of the company, their implementation is a focal point for design agility.

The State of Software Pricing: Think Twice Before You Re-Price – Part 2

Jim Geisman — 2008-06-20T10:11:56-08:00

Software pricing is a complex business. Too often, companies simply raise prices in order to improve cash flow. Better tactics exist.

Return Leaders: A Q and A with Greg Gianforte, CEO RightNow Technologies

Javier Rojas — 2008-06-16T10:53:25-08:00

It is a well kept secret that some of the leading companies arrived at the top without taking early venture capital funding. Today’s market may call on companies to be more prudent in how they apply capital to generate returns. Leading off a series of discussions with founders whose capital-efficient businesses are recognized “return leaders,” Kennet Partners Managing Director Javier Rojas sat down with Greg Gianforte of RightNow Technologies to learn how he created a $200M IPO from a bootstrapped venture.

The State of Software Pricing: Think Twice Before You Re-Price – Part 1

Jim Geisman — 2008-06-13T10:01:57-08:00

Many times companies try to change prices to stabilize or increase revenues. The results, unfortunately, are often disastrous.

Best Practices: Digital Rights Managment: 5 Essentials for Choosing a Business-Enabling Software DRM Solution

Jeremy Soref — 2008-06-09T10:34:06-08:00

Four years ago the primary focus of software rights management was anti-piracy and intellectual property protection. Today, software rights have evolved and expanded to include business-enabling technology capable of driving organizational processes, accelerating innovation and ultimately growing the bottom line.

Best Practices: Software Marketing: Driving Forces of Commoditization

Jeff Thull — 2008-06-06T10:06:23-08:00

Rapid commoditization of products and services is exasperating for even the most skilled professionals. Solution providers are struggling to differentiate their unique products and services and simultaneously, customers are putting the squeeze on margins and driving unique value to the lowest common denominator – price.