Summer is officially over and the leaves are already beginning to change colors in the Boston area. Yet, even as the days are getting cooler, the SaaS and broader Cloud Computing marketplace has never been hotter.
The latest indication that the 'on-demand' services market is more than just the latest over-hyped tech trend is that the 'legacy' research firms are finally beginning to recognize the magnitude of this customer-driven movement. You can click here to read my views about market research firms' lagging indicators regarding SaaS and Cloud Computing.
Another measure of the SaaS and Cloud Computing market growth is the growing number of mergers and acquisitions in this sector of the tech industry. You can find our views regarding the rising M&A activity on our blog, and a list of the latest announcements on the Industry News page of the SaaS Showplace.
In addition to commenting and consulting on the business implications of the transformation of the technology industry from a product-centric to a services-driven model, THINKstrategies is also speaking at and supporting a widening array of industry and corporate events. You can find a current list of industry events below and on the SaaS Showplace.
Between these speaking engagements, we continue to conduct strategy sessions and other consulting engagements with a wide range of clients seeking to capitalize on the business benefits of this rapidly evolving market. Our clients include:
IT and business decision-makers within large-scale enterprises, as well as small- and mid-size businesses (SMBs), who are trying to better understand how they can leverage SaaS and cloud computing to achieve their corporate objectives.
Established vendors who are trying to migrate to SaaS and cloud computing models without disrupting their existing operations.
And, a widening array start-ups and channel organizations who are trying to capitalize on specific market opportunities.
THINKstrategies has produced a series of online presentations, powered by Brainshark, regarding the rapidly evolving role for channel companies in the SaaS and cloud computing market. You can also click here to find an online interview I conducted on behalf of Corent Technologies regarding the importance of multi-tenancy.
The SaaS Showplace and our newsletter mailing list also continue to grow, reflecting the rapidly evolving marketplace. The Showplace includes over 1300 companies offering SaaS and cloud computing solutions across 80 application, industry and enabling technology areas. And, we have more than 12,900 subscribers to this newsletter!
You can find more perspectives, profiles, primers, podcasts, webinars and whitepapers regarding today's SaaS and cloud computing trends and best practices on the SaaS Showplace.
Please 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.
The 'SaaSification' of Inter-Enterprise Business Processes
THINKstrategies believes that the SaaS market is experiencing a new wave of innovation. After the successful transformation of front-office and back-office applications, we are now witnessing the SaaSification of inter-enterprise business process, such as procurement and supply-chains.
Click here to read our views in Datamation regarding this new stage in the evolution of the SaaS and cloud computing marketplace.
Contact us if you'd like to discuss the implications of this trend on your business.
How SaaS Vendors Are Building Trust and Users Measure Value in the Cloud
While cost-savings is the primary driver for many organizations adopting SaaS and cloud computing, there are other motivations, especially for those who are pursuing 'private clouds'.
Click here to read about how customers are measuring the value of the cloud.
In response, SaaS and cloud computing vendors are fundamentally changing the way business applications are designed, delivered and managed to satisfy customers' evolving expectations. A growing number of SaaS and cloud computing vendors are using the Web to demonstrate the reliability and performance of their services as well.
Click here to read our views about how online dashboards are permitting greater vendor transparency and helping to generate greater trust for today's on-demand services.
Click here to read more perspectives about the SaaS and cloud computing market.
Contact me if you'd like to discuss the implications of these trends, or to learn more about how THINKstrategies' services can help you achieve your business objectives.
Telcos and Hosting Companies Maneuver to Compete in the Cloud Computing Market
The rapidly evolving cloud computing and SaaS market represents both a threat and opportunity for telecommunications carriers and traditional hosting companies.
THINKstrategies has been consulting with companies in these segments of the market for years, as well as their corporate customers.
Click here to read our perspective about how telcommunications carriers are competiting in the cloud computing market, and here to read about how hosting companies must evolve to win a share of the market.
Contact us if you'd like to discuss how your organization can capitalize on these trends.
Click here to read about the latest BoSS award winners, and to learn more about the ongoing awards program, the nomination process and selection criteria.
You can also click here to learn more about the CCBV Awards program or to nominate a cloud vendor.
Contact us if you have any questions about these awards programs, or if you would like to obtain a copy of the nomination questionnaires.
Upcoming SaaS/Cloud Events
THINKstrategies is participating in and promoting the following SaaS and Cloud Computing conferences and other events in the coming weeks:
Coping with SaaS - A Support Perspective, Voice of the Customer Conference, October 25-27, Bolton, MA. (Save $50 on the first registration to the main conference by using the discount courtesy code EW3.)
Softletter's SaaS University, November 9-11, Boston, MA. Friends of THINKstrategies can save $100 on $795 Early Bird Registration until October 21 by using discount code, THINKSTRATEGIES100.
Mobile Cloud Computing Forum, December 1, London, UK. Friends of the SaaS Showplace can obtain a 20% discount on the registration fee by using the following code, MCTS20, when registering here.
Contact us if you'd like to discuss ways you can include THINKstrategies' perspective and gain our promotional suppport for your industry or corporate event.
SaaS Primers and Assessment Services for CIOs and Software Vendors
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.
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.
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@thinkstrategies.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.
