Subject: Software-as-a-Service Showplace Update
Software-as-a-Service Showplace Update
News and Views from the SaaS Resource Center
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Latest Articles & Commentaries |
Do Private Clouds Make Sense?
The Five P's of SaaS Platforms
The Channel Is Far From Dead in SaaS and the Cloud
Five Myths About SaaS
MSPs Must Use SaaS
Cloud Computing: Beyond Buy vs. Lease
How SMBs Can Save Money Using SaaS
Why IT Is Embracing SaaS
2009 Predictions for the On-Demand Services Market
SaaS & Cloud Computing: New Benchmarks for IT
Time is Right to Consider SaaS
More SaaS Insights... |
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| Greetings! |
Welcome to the May issue of THINKstrategies' Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Showplace Update.
"The Web's Best Directory of All Things SaaS!"
That's what Under the Radar said about the SaaS Showplace last month. They went on to say THINKstrategies has, "created the most comprehensive directory of SaaS providers. If you're on the hunt for SaaS solutions - or even doing competitive research for your own needs, check it out."
THINKstrategies launched the SaaS Showplace in 2006 to help users, vendors, investors and others learn about the exciting world of SaaS.
We've added over 100 new companies to the Showplace in the past 60 days, bringing the total number of company listings to over 1100!
As a result, the Showplace is the largest and highest ranked vendor-independent, online directory and best practices resource center regarding SaaS solutions and market trends.
Last month, we announced a new "Working in the Cloud" series of industry reports to spotlight how various types of SaaS and cloud computing solutions are helping specific sectors cope with today's unprecedented business challenges. You'll find more information about this new report series below.
In January, we initiated the Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Award program in January to bring attention to the tangible business benefits users of SaaS and cloud computing solutions are experiencing. You can read more about our BoSS Award winners below.
THINKstrategies' mission is to be a leading proponent for the SaaS and broader cloud computing movement, and trusted advisor to users, vendors, investors and others seeking to capitalize on these powerful capabilities.
A measure of our success: More than 11,200 IT and business decision-makers, IT solution providers, press, investors and others who subscribe to this newsletter and receive our updates!
This update will give you more details about our latest activities and perspectives on the SaaS and cloud computing markets.
Contact me if you'd like to learn more about how you can leverage the SaaS Showplace or THINKstrategies' consulting services to achieve your business objectives, or become a sponsor and supporter of our site and other activities.
I'm also beginning my training for the annual Pan Mass Challenge (PMC) cycling ride to fight cancer. Click here to learn more about why I participate in this terrific fundraising event and how you can contribute to this great cause.
Thanks for your interest and continued support of our efforts,
Jeff Kaplan
Managing Director
THINKstrategies | |
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| "Working in the Cloud" Industry Reports |
| Last month, THINKstratgies announced the latest in our initiatives aimed at promoting the business value of SaaS and cloud computing--the "Working in the Cloud" Industry Round-Up Report series.
The "Working in the Cloud" reports will examine key SaaS and Enabling Technology areas, as well as important industry-specific, vertical market opportunities.
The reports will consist of a THINKstrategies market overview followed by a series of vendor profiles and customer case studies in each area.
The coverage areas will be based on those identified in the SaaS Showplace online directories, as well as others identified by THINKstrategies' clients, partners and others.
Click here to learn more about this exciting new report series, or contact me if you'd like to participate. |
| Do Private Clouds Make Sense? |
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The rapid growth of SaaS has not only propelled the broader cloud computing market, but also created a new debate about whether cloud computing can be deployed within individual organizations in the form of 'private clouds'.
SaaS and cloud computing evangelists believe that the fundamental value of these offerings is that they enable users to take advantage of more cost-effective and powerful shared resources via the web. They are also suspicious that advocates of private clouds are simply trying to twist the meaning of cloud computing to serve their proprietary purposes.
THINKstrategies agrees with these concerns, but also believes that there is plenty of room for legitimate deployments of private clouds to satisfy the unique requirements of individual organizations.
Click here to read our perspective regarding private clouds.
Contact me if you'd like to discuss the implications of these trends, or to learn more about how our services can help you determine the right way to leverage SaaS or cloud computing to achieve your business objectives. |
| Best of SaaS Showplace Award Program Winners |
| The Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Awards program was launched in January to spotlight SaaS companies that are generating measurable business benefits for their customers.
The goal of this ongoing program is to promote the tangible benefits which organizations of all sizes across a growing number of industries are gaining from SaaS solutions, and showcase these SaaS vendors on the SaaS Showplace.
The following companies have been designated BoSS Award winners: ActionStep, Clarizen, CrownPeak, Daptiv, Makana Solutions, NTRglobal, Phase 2 International, QuickArrow, Rally Software, Savvis, Service-now.com, SPS Commerce, TimeTrade Systems, and Xactly.
We have more winners scheduled to be announced in the coming weeks.
Click here to read more about the award winners, and to learn more about the ongoing awards program, the nomination process and selection criteria.
Contact us if you have any questions about the awards program or if you would like to obtain a copy of the nomination questionnaire.
And, stay tuned for more BoSS Award winners! |
| Showplace Sponsors, Partners, Whitepapers and Benefits |
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One of the primary benefits of the SaaS Showplace is our access and participation in a wide array of industry activities aimed at improving industry best practices.
For example, SoftLetter is currently conducting a survey regarding the telesales techniques of software vendors. Click here to participate in this survey. Click here to obtain SoftLetter's SaaS Benchmark Study and use Digital Coupon: SAAS0950JK to obtain a $50 discount on the purchase price.
You can also find two whitepapers on the SaaS Insights page of the Showplace produced by our partner, Trigent:
- "So You Think You Can SaaS"
- "Building and Selling Software in a Declining Market"
Click here to read TripleTree's perspective on the SaaS and IT Services market.
Or, go to the SaaS Insights page and Best Practices Portal to find additional whitepapers, webcasts and other valuable material.
Click here if you'd like to learn how you can increase your visibility and add your whitepapers, webcasts and other resources to the SaaS Showplace. |
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Upcoming SaaS and Cloud Computing Events |
Don't forget to register for Thursday's webinar hosted by Ribbit entitled, "From Conversation to Close. Get the Most Out of Your Sales Team", at noon ET.
NetSuite is hosting a webinar entitled, "How to Tap the Potential of Your Recurring Revenue Stream," on Tuesday, May 19, at 2:00 p.m. EDT.
THINKstrategies is also pleased to support and I am happy to be participating in the following SaaS and cloud computing events during the coming months,
- NetworkWorld IT Roadmap, June 24, Atlanta, GA.
- Interop SaaS Track, May 19, Las Vegas, NV.
- "SaaS Forum: Competing in a SaaS World - Overcoming the Challenges to Deliver Successful Sales and Marketing Results", hosted by the Massachusetts High Tech Leadership Council on Thursday, May 21, 8:00-11:30 AM at Sun Microsystems, 10 Network Drive, Burlington, MA. To obtain the member discount rate, use promo code: saasfrm1.
- "Rapid Application Development and Deployment Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) Showdown 2009", 10am-4pm EST, Wednesday, June 10.
- SoftLetter SaaS University, June 30-July 1, Chicago, IL. Register before May 21 and save $200 on the conference registration. Obtain an additional $100 saving by using using THINKstrategies' promotional code: THINKSTRATEGIES100, in the field at the bottom of the initial signup screen at http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaID=174043.
- Cloud World, August 12-13, San Francisco, CA.
Contact us if you'd like to learn how you can include THINKstrategies' perspective at your upcoming public or corporate event. |
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THINKstrategies' SaaS Readiness Assessment Services |
| 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 operational challenges.
In response, THINKstrategies has 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.
These services are based on THINKstrategies' extensive experience in the SaaS market and 'ecosystem' of business relationships.
Click here to learn more about our Readiness Assessment Services, or contact us to explore how THINKstrategies' services can help you achieve your business objectives. |
| 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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