Software » SaaS

The challenges of competing with Cloud computing providers

In discussions about cloud computing and in comments readers leave on my blog posts, I commonly get statements along the lines of "Yeah, this cloud computing stuff sounds great, but at the end of the day, you have to have an IT guy solving problems like they've always done." In personal interactions, I often hear this sentiment portrayed as, "Public cloud computing is fine for the SMB and startup market, but enterprises aren't ready to move to that model." The tone of much of this feedback is that anyone who advocates cloud computing is at best naive or at worst incapable of understanding the real details of IT.

By Bernard Golden | 27 August, 2011 03:32

Tags: cloud computing, internet

The next wave of SaaS

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) has gone from a curiosity to the mainstream in just a few years as businesses turn to the technology to take advantage of the inherent economies of scale. Yet that's only the beginning.

By Jim Frome | 26 May, 2009 08:27

Tags: Forrester Research, SaaS

Analysis: Can Sam's Club bring health care tech to the local doctor?

In two years, the federal government will begin divvying up $19 billion in reimbursement money to help health care organizations and doctors cover roll out electronic medical records (EMR) technology. In the meantime, the cost for the technology, which can run tens of millions of dollars for large facilities and tens of thousands of dollars for private physician practices, rests squarely on the private sector.

By Lucas Mearian | 15 May, 2009 05:35

Tags: e-health, medical records, SaaS

5 SaaS myths busted

Despite a growing track record of success, software as a service is still misunderstood by a surprising number of IT and business decision-makers. It's time to put to rest some misconceptions about SaaS. Let's bust the five most common myths.

By Jeffrey Kaplan | 24 March, 2009 12:26

Tags: SaaS

5 rules for guaranteed failure at SaaS, without even trying

We're all too familiar with outages in Google's Gmail, Salesforce.com and the RIM BlackBerry network. Recent failures by Apple MobileMe, Jott and Cuil online-delivered software demonstrate that software-as-a-service -- or Software+Services, as Microsoft would call it -- isn't just a matter of putting your software up on the Internet, gathering users and declaring your Version 1.0 ready so you can start charging for services. The three recent examples of MobileMe, Jott and Cuil clearly demonstrate other major pitfalls in trying to deliver online software. Are all online software services destined to repeat these same mistakes, or will we learn from the mistakes of others? I certainly hope the latter.

By Mitchell Ashley | 29 August, 2008 10:13

Tags: SaaS

Prepaid software: More than a token solution to licensing woes

I'm writing about Aspen Technology today not because you are likely to ever need its software (unless you own an oil refinery) but because the way the company allows its customers to purchase its smorgasbord of software applications is unique -- so much so that you may want to consider putting a little pressure on your vendors to consider the same.

By Ephraim Schwartz | 27 August, 2008 10:22

Tags: enterprise apps

Test-driving desktop software as a service

The Microsoft home page caught my eye with an invitation to "Test Drive" Windows Vista. Now, I don't need to test it out; I've been working with it for the past two years. But I was curious about the quality of this online offer with a browser interface.

Microsoft's cloud forms

At the Worldwide Partner Conference in Houston, Microsoft made its biggest foray yet into cloud computing with pricing and partnership arrangements for Microsoft Online Services, a family that includes Online versions of Exchange, SharePoint, Office Communications, Office Live Meeting, and Dynamics CRM.

7 skills for IT fame and fortune

With the economic downturn on everyone's mind, assumptions about job security come under question, and everyone starts reexamining their skills. There are lots and lots of valuable jobs performed in IT, but some skills are valued even more highly than others. With all the upheaval we're experiencing in IT, many new skills are in high demand or rapidly increasing in value. Here are my Top 7 skills that could help you not only keep that job, but secure an even better new job, positioning you to work on the next generation of IT applications and software products in the era of Web-delivered online applications.

Out in the cold: small businesses' ERP deficit

It took the United States just 45 months to defeat the combined forces of Germany, Japan, and Italy. It has taken SAP 48 months to get Business ByDesign, its SaaS (software as a service) play for the SMB market, off the ground. And it still isn't ready for prime time.

In the cloud: what startups need to succeed

With Google's recent launch of its App Engine, and with the likes of IBM and Amazon having staked claims, cloud computing is clearly a major development in the IT landscape. The benefits are obvious, enabling enterprises to scale rapidly with a level of performance previously available to only the largest companies -- all without adding equipment, software or staff.

Sweet new service backs up while it syncs

A company called Sharpcast last week rolled out a new service that syncs your data across PCs, Macs and phones. That sounds simple enough, but the service, called SugarSync, and it's believed to be the first of its kind.

Crimeware-as-a-service taking off

Online malware threats have taken the next step in their evolution from piecemeal creations to commercialized products, with security researchers charting the arrival of a growing number of hosted data theft services.

SaaS favors Google over Salesforce

To say that strategy and technology are finally becoming interlinked in business is pure BS.