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Business Strategy for Software Executives |
July 28, 2008 |
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SaaS: A Blue-Chip Enterprise Solution?A new study looks at the experiences of corporate SaaS adopters and finds satisfied customers who are looking for more enterprise-ready features.By Bill McNee, Bruce Guptill and Mike West, Saugatuck Technology Already entering its third wave, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is now spreading throughout the enterprise, delivering mission-critical solutions well beyond the basic software functionality of first-wave SaaS offerings. In just a few short years, SaaS has evolved from simple subscription-based application solutions at the margins – email, web conferencing, and CRM -- to offering core application solutions such as HR, Finance, BI and Procurement, as well as IT infrastructure solutions delivered as cloud-based services. In this sense, SaaS has been steadily moving from the edges to the core, and in another few years will increasingly bring ERP, Supply Chain and GRC solutions to the enterprise. But is SaaS truly “enterprise ready”? There are two sides to this question. The first concerns the evolution and maturity of a SaaS solutions and the platform that delivers it – as well as the underlying value proposition being provided. The second concerns how the buyer or user organization manages its SaaS solutions, and whether it adopts SaaS solutions on an ad hoc basis or takes a more proactive (managed) posture toward including SaaS within its application portfolio and application architecture. This article highlights some of the key findings and conclusions from Saugatuck’s latest 42-page research report, Enterprise-Ready, or Not: SaaS Enters the Mainstream published July 10, 2008 – which focuses on whether SaaS is now ready to participate as a blue chip solution in the business portfolio.
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CIOs are the Last to Know
Publish Your Perspective!SandHill.com wants your opinions. Send your thoughts on the enterprise software industry to SandHill.com editor, Maryann Jones Thompson (maryann@sandhill.com) and have your opinions published on our site. DON'T MISS: China's Opportunity in Offshore ServicesChina faces major challenges to becoming a global giant in the offshoring and outsourcing of services. Read more about the obstacles in this article from The McKinsey Quarterly. News Update: Feeling Good About
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THIS WEEK'S SPONSOR
rPath is the company that is pioneering the software appliance approach for application distribution and management. Just as the rise in availability and performance of the Internet gave birth to Software as a Service, so too will virtualization give birth to software appliances as a preferred form factor for application consumption. Software appliances eliminate the hassles of the general purpose operating system and free vendors and customers to focus on application value instead of technology management. SOFTWARE PULSESoftware Pulse is a publication of SandHill.com, the online resource for software business strategy. To subscribe, To unsubscribe, see the bottom of this email. Send us your feedback, SandHill.com is published by Sand Hill Group, which provides investment and management advice to emerging leaders in the $600 billion enterprise software, services and solutions market. Sand Hill Group produces the Software and the Enterprise series of conferences for industry executives, and authors research reports on cutting-edge technology topics. |
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A recent study found cloud computing low on the list of CIO priorities. Not to worry: Billy Marshall of rPath says technology leaders are often the last to hear about the adoption of new technology. Read why in 