SaaSPert: Software as a Service (SaaS) Insights

This article is written specifically from a South African perspective, but it certainly applies to many other countries with a similar infrastructural and/or legislative environment. It is in press release format, so the tone is a little more formal than some of my other posts. I thought it was worth posting all the same.

The number of South Africans who use their cell phones to access the Internet and other mobile web applications definitely exceeds the number of those who rely on traditional computers to connect with the digital world.

Although some in the industry say it is contentious, the figures are undeniable, when considering that the future of business lies in the hands of the youth of today and that the majority of them are connected via their mobile phones. What we are faced with is the future of business-focussed applications that enhance productivity and data accessibility and this future resides firmly in the continual development of software as a service (SaaS) technologies. (more…)

These are my materials released by the RAMP Foundation on the NetProphet site from the NetProphet event at Mutual Business Park in Pinelands, Cape Town in May 2009.

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When planning a new business venture, I have learned that a great question to ask  is “what would a would-be buyer of this proposed business look at should I choose to sell it at a later stage?” This “thought experiment” will focus you on the business issues that really matter.

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Last time I said that I was going to post about great SaaS business examples. Well I’ve been researching this topic and it is “1 million miles wide and 1 mile deep.” I decided to use less real company examples and talk more on a “principles” basis.
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SaaS is a volumes business

“Your SaaS business is a volumes business…”

SaaS products are successful when they have lots of clients. Simply said, “it’s a volume’s business.” Ideas that work well on a SaaS model need to meet a fairly generic need (albeit with customizable options) and there should be a high number of potential clients.

So… (more…)

I would like to say upfront that I am mostly answering this question from the point of view of company/entrepreneur looking to decide whether to build their software on a SaaS architectural design and business model versus a more classic model (as opposed to addressing the question from a purchaser or software’s perspective). There are numerous debates going around from the point of view of purchasers of software, but this is not my primary interest here.

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General Electric manages and relies on one of the world’s largest and most complex supplier networks of over 500,000 suppliers across thousands of business units in more than 100 countries – and they have chosen and implemented a SaaS product (Aravo SIM) to provide an on-demand Supplier Information System (SIM).

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According to a Gartner Report released on 22 October 2008: “Worldwide software-as-a-service (SaaS) revenue in the enterprise application markets* is on pace to surpass $6.4 billion in 2008, a 27 per cent increase from 2007 revenue of $5.1 billion, according to Gartner, Inc. The market is expected to more than double with SaaS revenue reaching $14.8 billion in 2012.”
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Software as a Service (SaaS) is also commonly known as “Software on Demand.” In a basic sense these terms refer to software delivered to end users, over the internet, on a pay-per-use basis.

According to Wikipedia, “SaaS is generally associated with business software and is typically thought of as a low-cost way for businesses to obtain the same benefits of commercially licensed, internally operated software without the associated complexity and high initial cost.”

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For the last 6 years I have been “heads down” furiously working on building web based software for clients, growing our consulting team and building our own intellectual property at White Wall Web.

Even as early as 2003, we were convinced that building web based software had serious benefits to both the licensors and the consumers of software. Over the years White Wall Web have evangelized this view by making claims like “all software will ultimately be web-based” and “synergy through convergence.” These are expressions of my personal view and by extension, our collective. (more…)