The holiday season is here and there is plenty to celebrate in the SaaS and Cloud Computing marketplace. Nearly every recent CIO survey has found growing interest and deployment plans for these 'on-demand' services among organizations of all sizes across almost every industry.
As a result, all the major research firms are predicting explosive growth for the SaaS and Cloud Computing industry. In turn, we are seeing a proliferation of players seeking to capitalize on this unprecedented market opportunity, many simply rebranding their offerings as I discuss in my recent Datamation commentary.
It has been THINKstrategies' mission to make the SaaS Showplace the most authoritative source of information and insight regarding the latest trends and best practices in the SaaS and Cloud Computing marketplace.
In 2006, the SaaS Showplace became the first vendor-independent, online directory and best practices resource center regarding SaaS solutions, and today it is the largest and highest ranked with over 1300 company listings across 80 Application, Industry and Enabling Technology categories.
This Update is now distributed to over 13,000 subscribers and more than 1000 followers on Twitter, making it the most widely read e-newsletter dedicated exclusively to the SaaS and Cloud Computing market!
Over the past two years, the Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Awards program has also become an important showcase of SaaS solutions which are delivering measurable business benefits to organizations of all sizes across nearly every industry. You can find an update regarding the BoSS Awards program and our latest compilation report below.
You can also find information below about our most recent Strategic Thinking Profile which examines CDNetworks' unique Dynamic Web Acceleration service that enables SaaS vendors to optimize the performance of their 'on-demand' solutions to meet their customers' escalating needs and expectations.
THINKstrategies also recently published a whitepaper that investigates the realities of today's government policies regarding SaaS and Cloud data security.
THINKstrategies is also committed to supporting research projects aimed at better understanding customer needs and concerns. That's why we are supporting Grant Thornton's current SaaS Risk research study.
THINKstrategies continues to be busy conducting strategy sessions and providing other consulting services to a wide range of clients seeking to capitalize on the business benefits of SaaS and Cloud Computing 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.
Because of our unique position and perspective in the SaaS and Cloud Computing marketplace, we are called upon to present our views at various industry and corporate events, as well as in a variety of business and trade publications. You can find the latest industry events below and recent commentaries on the left, or in the SaaS Showplace.
I hope you find our latest perspectives, profiles, primers, podcasts, webinars and whitepapers regarding today's SaaS and cloud computing trends and best practices on the SaaS Showplace valuable.
Please contact us if you'd like to learn more about how you can leverage the SaaS Showplace and THINKstrategies' services to achieve your business objectives.
SaaS/Cloud Computing Focus Shifts from Applications to Datamarts
In our last Update newsletter, we discussed how the SaaS market is entering the third stage in its evolution -- the 'SaaSification' of various industry-specific business processes, in many cases fulfilling the promise of the extranet idea that was popularized during the Dot.com era.
These vertical market solutions follow the first wave of SaaS-based horizontal, enterprise applications, and the second wave of SaaS-based IT management solutions.
Now, THINKstrategies is seeing a new set of 'Data-as-a-Service' (DaaS) or 'datamart' offerings arise which are creating additional opportunities for entrepreneurs, established vendors and users alike.
Click here to read THINKstrategies' views about the business implications of the new generation of datamarts which are emerging.
The ability to apply data to address various business challenges also extends to IT management, as we discuss in our latest E-Commerce Times commentary.
Contact us if you'd like to discuss the implications of this trend on your business.
Debunking the Myths About SaaS and Government Data Security Laws
Despite the exciting opportunities to utilize more readily available data sources to address age-old business and social challenges, many corporate decision-makers are still hesitant to leverage SaaS/Cloud-based services because of various government regulations and privacy laws.
THINKstrategies has published a whitepaper which shows why these concerns have become exaggerated and should not preclude organizations from taking advantage of today's SaaS/Cloud-based solutions to meet their business objectives.
Strategic Thinking Profile Examines CDNetworks' Dynamic Web Acceleration Capabilities
Growing reliance on SaaS/Cloud-based applications is putting greater pressure on the solution providers to strengthen their service delivery capabilities. Rather than build out their own service delivery infrastructures, SaaS providers are leveraging web acceleration solutions to optimize their performance.
This reportclearly illustrates the tangible benefits which today's SaaS solutions are delivering to organizations of all sizes across nearly every industry, and why the SaaS market is growing rapidly and fundamentally changing the nature of the software industry.
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:
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.
"Understanding Software as a Service (SaaS) 101", hosted by the Knowledge Congress. Friends of THINKstrategies can use special discount code: smart352 to register for the discounted rate of $99.00 for the live webcast.
Click here to see more virtual events focused on key SaaS/Cloud Computing trends.
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.
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.
THINKstrategies has also 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.
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.
Our 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.
