Software-as-a-Service Showplace Update
News and Views about SaaS, Cloud Computing and other 'On-Demand' Solutions from THINKstrategies' Online Resource Center
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Latest Articles & Commentaries |
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| Greetings! |
Although THINKstrategies' homebase is still withstanding the cold winds of winter, the SaaS and Cloud Computing market continues to heat up as organizations of all sizes across nearly every industry are discovering the business benefits of web-based, on-demand software and system alternatives to meet their corporate objectives.
Just as SaaS and cloud computing are permitting organizations to escape the costs and complexities of legacy applications and systems, growing demand for THINKstrategies' perspective on these trends have enabled me to escape the winter weather in New England.
This past week I was in Miami and San Francisco attending Parallels' "Profit from the Cloud" conference and Pacific Crest Securities' Emerging Technology Summit focused on SaaS and cloud computing. These events personify the growing attention on-demand alternatives are gaining among IT/business decision-makers, solution providers and investors. The number of registrants to Parallels' conference jumped from 800 last year to 1400 this week. And, Pacific Crest reported that its latest survey of CIOs indicates that SaaS procurements could represent 30% of overall software spending in 2010, two years ahead of the pace Gartner has forecast. You can read more about these events below.
These are just the latest illustrations of the widespread migration toward SaaS and cloud services. The continued growth of the SaaS Showplace is another important barometor of this trend. Over the past year, the number of companies listed on the Showplace nearly doubled and there are now nearly 1300 SaaS vendors and enabling technology suppliers listed on the Showplace!
The volume of best practice resources on the SaaS Showplace has also grown rapidly, including dozens of whitepapers and webcasts, and a new set of videos and narrated presentations powered by Brainshark.
I also want to welcome and thank Novell and Verio for being our latest Showplace sponsors and contributing their support and material to site.
A year ago, we launched the Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Awards program to recognize SaaS companies which are delivering measurable business benefits to their corporate customers. Over forty companies have received BoSS awards in the past twelve months.
Based on the success of the BoSS Awards program, THINKstrategies has launched a new Cloud Computing Business Value (CCBV) Awards program to give similar recognition to companies which are delivering Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solutions producing measurable business benefits for their customers.
As a result of these initiatives, the SaaS Showplace remains the largest and highest ranked online directory of SaaS and cloud computing solutions and best practices on the Web!
We've also added over 100 new subscribers to this newsletter in the past month, and now have more than 12,300 IT and business decision-makers, solution providers, technology investors and press reading about the Showplace and SaaS industry trends!
This update includes our latest views regarding the SaaS and cloud computing market, as well as industry events and other resources to help you capitalize on this exciting business opportunity.
Contact me if you'd like to learn more about how you can leverage the SaaS Showplace, or THINKstrategies' educational and consulting services to achieve your business objectives.
I hope you find this update valuable.
Jeff Kaplan
Managing Director
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| Latest News and Views |
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A continuous stream of customer surveys and case studies clearly show that adoption of SaaS and cloud computing is accelerating.
For example, Pacific Crest Securities unveiled their latest CIO survey results at their Emerging Technology Summit in San Francisco this past week. Their survey found growing adoption of SaaS and satisfaction with the benefits derived from these services. It also found that SaaS is expected to equal upwards of 30% of 2010 software budgets, up from just 10% in 2007!
Although Salesforce.com and SuccessFactors were the keynote speakers at the Pacific Crest conference and the clear leaders in the SaaS market, the investment firm's latest survey found that CIOs still believe that the established vendors -- Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Oracle and SAP -- will be the "Most Strategic SaaS Vendors Over the Next 3-5 Years."
SoftLetter is conducting a series of surveys regarding SaaS best practices and challenges. Click here to participate or learn more about these studies.
The success of SaaS is driving the broader growth of cloud computing. An indication of the escalating the Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) components of cloud computing is the explosive rise in demand for Amazon Web Services, the pioneer of this industry. Click here to read our advice to IT and business decision-makers regarding cloud computing.
We also believe that cloud computing can help organizations circumvent software and system vendor lock-in. Read more here...
Click here to read more perspectives about the SaaS and cloud computing market, and view our new series of online presentations to help IT and business decision-makers within enterprise organizations, as well as IT solution providers, better understand the forces driving trends. The first two presentations are,
The presentations are powered by Brainshark, an easy-to-use online presentation creation and distribution platform. Contact me if you'd like to discuss the implications of these trends, or to learn more about how THINKstrategies' services can help you determine the right way to leverage SaaS or cloud computing to achieve your business objectives. |
| Changing Cloud Competitive Landscape |
| As we predicted, the consolidation of the SaaS industry is continuing with a steady stream of recent mergers and acquisitions.
SuccessFactors joined the acquisition club this month with its announcement that it intends to purchase Inform Business Impact. Click here to read our perspective on this transaction.
You can find the more merger and acquisition announcements on the Industry News page of the SaaS Showplace.
While the SaaS market matures and consolidates, the broader cloud computing industry is continuing to expand. I had an opportunity witness the emergence of an interesting new player this past week in Miami. Parallels is not a new company, but it has a newly realigned product portfolio and go-to-market strategy focused on cloud enablement solutions for service providers focused on small businesses. Click here to read THINKstrategies' perspective about Parallels' capabilities and prospects.
Contact us if you like to get our perspective or advice regarding other aspects of the cloud computing market. |
| Best of SaaS Showplace Award Program |
| THINKstrategies began recognizing SaaS companies that are generating measurable business benefits for their customers via our Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Awards program in January 2009.
The goal of this ongoing program is to promote the tangible benefits which organizations of all sizes are gaining from SaaS and cloud computing solutions, and showcase these SaaS vendors on the SaaS Showplace.
Since launching the BoSS Awards program, we have announced over forty (40) winners and have more identified for recognition in the coming weeks. Click here to read more about the BoSS award winners, and to learn more about the ongoing awards program, the nomination process and selection criteria.
The success of the BoSS Awards have encouraged us to initiate a new Cloud Computing Business Value (CCBV) Awards program to recognize IaaS and PaaS vendors who are also producing measurable business benefits for their customers. Click here to learn more about this new awards program or to nominate a cloud vendor.
Contact us if you have any questions about the awards program or if you would like to obtain a copy of the nomination questionnaire. |
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SaaS Primers for CIOs and IT Solution Providers |
| Despite growing customer demand for SaaS, THINKstrategies has found many aspiring providers of these on-demand services are still struggling to win a share of the market because of a variety of challenges.
In response, THINKstrategies has published a primer for independent software vendors (ISVs) to help them fully understand the strategy, marketing and operational challenges associated with migrating to SaaS.
The primer is based on THINKstrategies' extensive experience working with vendors making this transition. We have offered Readiness Assessment Services since 2007, aimed at helping aspiring SaaS vendors develop and execute their go-to-strategies, service delivery capabilities, and sales processes.
Since the launch of these services, we have worked with a wide array of aspiring SaaS companies, ranging from start-ups to major software vendors migrating to SaaS. Click here to see a partial list of our vendor clients.
We also work with IT/business decision-makers within large-scale enterprises, as well as small- and mid-size businesses (SMBs), who need help evaluating their SaaS needs and selecting the SaaS suppliers to satisfy their requirements. Click here to read our primer for CIOs considering SaaS.
Contact us to explore how THINKstrategies' services can help you achieve your business objectives. |
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Upcoming SaaS and Cloud Computing Events |
The SaaS Showplace and THINKstrategies is pleased to be participating in and supporting the following SaaS and cloud computing events during the coming weeks,
- ebizQ Cloud Qcamp Virtual Conference, March 17.
- "Under the Radar - 'Commercializing the Cloud'", April 16, Mountain View, CA.
- CloudSlam'10, April 19-23.
- SaaS University, hosted by SoftLetter, April 20-22, Washington, DC.
- Telecoms Cloud Services Summit, April 22-23, London, UK.
- All About the Cloud, SIIA Conference, May 10-12, San Francisco, CA.(Use promo code PRMTHINK to get $100 off the SIIA non-member regisration rate. Discount does not apply to current registrants.)
- 2nd Annual Cloud Computing World Forum, June 29-30, Olympia, London (Use promo code TStrat for a 20% discount on the conference registration. Attend Expo and Workshops free.)
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| SaaS Showplace Partnerships and Alliances |
| One of the keys to the success of the SaaS market and broader cloud computuing industry has been an ever-increasing ecosystem of complimentary relationships.
The SaaS Showplace has also adopted this industry best practices and has continuously expanded its array of relationships to enhance the quality of the site and provide greater benefits to users and vendors of cloud-based solutions.
Last year, we established alliances with the following organizations to promote the business benefits of SaaS and cloud computing,
- Renovatix Solutions which powers the SaaS Showplace marketplace.
- FVG Virtual Channel which produces corporate-sponsored, interactive digital productions.
- Cloudbook which educate anyone who builds, buys, sells or invests in applications or infrastructure delivered as a cloud service.
- Repfolio which offers an online marketplace to help B2B companies build and manage external sales forces.
- Brainshark which enables businesses to produce online presentations.
Click here to find a complete list of all of our partners. Contact us if you'd like to learn about how your organization can team with the SaaS Showplace to promote the benefits of cloud-based solutions. |
| Become a SaaS Showplace Sponsor |
| THINKstrategies' SaaS Showplace has become the largest and highest ranked online directory and best practices resource center in the SaaS market.
The SaaS Showplace is attracting a growing number of IT/network and business decision-makers, IT solution providers, investors and the press who are discovering the value of our SaaS online directory and resource center.
Contact us at info@saas-showplace.com if you'd like to gain greater industry visibility via our online directories and increasingly popular e-newsletter. |
| About THINKstrategies, Inc. |
| THINKstrategies is the leading strategic consulting services company focused specifically on the unprecedented business challenges facing IT managers, solutions providers and investors today as the technology industry shifts from a product-centric to a services-driven orientation.
The company's mission is to educate organizations about the on-demand services market--including SaaS, cloud computing and managed services--and help our clients capitalize on these trends to achieve their business objectives. We help enterprise decision-makers with their sourcing strategies, IT solutions providers with their marketing strategies, and VCs with their investment strategies.
THINKstrategies is the founder of the Software-as-a-Service and Managed Services Showplaces, the largest vendor-independent, online directories and information resource centers.
Contact us for more information about our services or Showplace sponsorship opportunities. | |
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