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Monday’s Musings: Why Next Gen Apps Must Improve Existing Activity Streams

Published on August 30, 2010 by R "Ray" Wang
Upcoming Data Deluge Threatens The Effectiveness Of Activity Streams Activity streams, best popularized by consumer apps such as Facebook and Twitter, have emerged as the Web 2.0 visualization paradigm that addresses the massive flows of information users face (see Figure 1).  As a key element of the dynamic user experiences discussed in the 10 elements of social enterprise apps, activity streams epitomize how apps can deliver contextual and relevant information.  Unfortunately, what was seen as an elegant solution that brought people, data, applications, and information flow into a centralized real-time interface, now faces assault from the exponential growth in data and information sources.  In fact, most people can barely keep up with the information overload, let alone face the four forces of data deluge that will likely paralyze both collaboration and decision making (see Figure 2):
  1. Massive activity stream aggregation by enterprise apps. Every enterprise app seeking sexy social-ness plans one or more social networking feeds into their next release.  The mixing and mashing of personal and work related feeds will leave users confused about context and lower existing signal to noise ratios.  Yet, proliferation will continue as users seek to bring aggregated sources of information into one centralized feed.
  2. Explosive growth in the Internet of Things (IOT). Beyond just device to device communications, the web of objects, appliances, and living creatures through wired and wireless sensors, chips, and tags will drive most of the growth in the internet in the next 5 to 10 years.  With an estimated 100 billion net-enabled devices by 2020, these networks seek to discover activity patterns, predict outcomes, and monitor operational health.  The massive amounts of sensing data driven into systems will not only overwhelm users, but also handicap the performance of today's data warehouses, analytics platforms, and applications.
  3. Flood of user generated content (UGC). User generated content continues to grow.  Facebook has over 500 million users populating pages with rich social meta data.  There are over 300 million blogs.  Wikipedia has more than 15 million articles.  Content sources will propagate at geometric rates, especially as BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries up their adoption.
  4. Proliferation of social meta data. Organizations seeking a marketing edge must digest, interpret, and asses large volumes of meta data from sources such as Facebook Open Graph.  Successful identification of social graphs require matching gargantuan volumes of meta data (e.g. likes, check-ins, groups, etc) through introspection across a vast array of objects.  Human centric and object centric events will inevitably coexist and engulf unified activity streams.
Figure 1.  Activity Streams Improve Collaboration And Deliver Dynamic User Experiences Figure 2. The Four Forces Of Data Deluge Filters Reduce The Signal To Noise Ratios And Drive Relevance Given the tall task of repairing the relevance of activity streams under the four forces of data deluge, users need better filtering tools from their existing solutions.  Today's rudimentary filters remind users of the simple search engines from the early 1990's.  Users must have filters with the sophistication to cut across the big data challenges.  Filters must span across mediums such as pages, books, notes, photos, videos, voice, and others.  Based on 23 user scenarios, the 5 major categories of filters should include:
  • People. Requests focus around people, their relationships, and formal and informal groupings.
  • Location. Physical location attributes include spatial coordinates, topology, environmental conditions, vertical position, and others.
  • Time and date. Time and date plays a key role in parsing out historical data, multiple chronological perspectives, and forecasting and simulation.
  • Events. Events serve as a mega filter by relating people, location, time and date, and purpose.
  • Topics. Topics represent a broader filter that represents a generic "other" category in filtering.
The Bottom Line: Users Need Greater Control Over Their Point Of View And Next Gen Apps Must Deliver Filters alone will not provide enough firepower to put users back in control.  Users must easily self-manage filters.  Self-learning patterns should be identified by the system.  Text analytics, natural language processing, and complex sentiment algorithms will play a role.  User driven advanced filters should at a minimum include:
  • Saved filters. Users save and share with other users their library of filters.
  • Trending. Users apply layers of filters to correlate complex multi-dimensional patterns.
  • Simulations. Users proactively test out scenario plans with existing data.
  • Predictions. Users apply pattern recognition and trending to test hypotheses.
Your POV. Buyers, do you need help understanding how activity streams can improve adoption and ROI.  Are you suffering from data deluge?   Sellers and vendors, want to test out your next generation product ideas?  You can post or send on to rwang0 at gmail dot com or r at softwareinsider dot org and we’ll keep your anonymity. Please let us know if you need help with your next gen apps strategy efforts.  Here’s how we can help:
  • Providing contract negotiations and software licensing support
  • Evaluating SaaS/Cloud options
  • Assessing apps strategies (e.g. single instance, two-tier ERP, upgrade, custom dev, packaged deployments”
  • Designing end to end processes and systems
  • Comparing SaaS/Cloud integration strategies
  • Assisting with legacy ERP migration
  • Engaging in an SCRM strategy
  • Planning upgrades and migration
  • Performing vendor selection
Reprints Reprints can be purchased through the Software Insider brand.  To request official reprints in PDF format, please contact r@softwareinsider.org. Disclosure Although we work closely with many mega software vendors, we want you to trust us.  For the full disclosure policy please refer here. Copyright © 2010 R Wang and Insider Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Research Report: The Upcoming Battle For The Largest Share Of The Tech Budget (Part 2) – Cloud Computing

Published on August 9, 2010 by R "Ray" Wang
Welcome to a part 2 of a multi-part series on The Software Insider Tech Ecosystem Model.  Part 2 describes how the cloud fits into the model.  Subsequent posts will apply the model to these leading vendors:
  • Overview
  • Cisco
  • Dell
  • HP
  • IBM
  • Microsoft
  • Oracle
  • Salesforce.com
  • SAP
The aggregation of these posts will result into a research report available for reprint rights.
Cloud Computing Represents The "New" Delivery Model For Internet Based IT Services Technology veterans often observe that new mega trends emerge every decade.  The market has evolved from mainframes (1970's); to mini computers (1980's); to client server (1990's); to internet based (2000's); and now to cloud computing (2010's).  Many of the cloud computing trends do take users back to the mainframe days of time sharing (i.e. multi-tenancy) and service bureaus (i.e cloud based BPO). What's changed since 1970?  Quite plenty -- users gain better usability, connectivity improves with the internet, storage continue to plummet, and performance increases in processing capability. Cloud delivery models share a stack approach similar to traditional delivery.  At the core, both deployment options share four types of properties (see Figure 1):
  1. Consumption – how users consume the apps and business processes
  2. Creation – what’s required to build apps and business processes
  3. Orchestration – how parts are integrated or pulled from an app server
  4. Infrastructure – where the core guts such as servers, storage, and networks reside
As the über category, Cloud Computing manifests in the four distinct layers of:
  • Business Services and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) – The traditional apps layer in the cloud includes software as a service apps, business services, and business processes on the server side.
  • Development-as-a-Service (DaaS) – Development tools take shape in the cloud as shared community tools, web based dev tools, and mashup based services.
  • Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) – Middleware manifests in the cloud with app platforms, database, integration, and process orchestration.
  • Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) – The physical world goes virtual with servers, networks, storage, and systems management in the cloud.
Figure 1. Traditional Delivery Compared To Cloud Delivery Cloud Computing Encourages Users And Vendors To Focus On Value Added Solutions Applying The Software Insider Tech Ecosystem Model to Cloud Computing highlights where buyers, sellers, and partners can deliver value (see Figure 2).  As cloud computing adoption increases, users can expect that:
  • Solution providers and partners will invest in value added solutions over commoditized infrastructure. The continued commoditization of technology results in richer and more relevant Cloud stacks.  As a result, a handful of larger players will emerge to drive down the costs of computing while encouraging ecosystems to deliver value added solutions.  Buyers can expect packaged apps, vertical apps, last mile solutions, and implementation partners, to invest in specialized and higher value intellectual property (IP).
  • Customers will care more about service level agreements than the brand name of technology components. The cloud commoditizes the infrastructure components for both tools for creation and tools for distribution.  Users shift their priority for brand components in favor of outcomes based delivery.  Consequently, users will not care about the brand name of hardware, database, middleware, and even business intelligence systems in use.  Client success shifts to the monitoring of pre-agreed upon service level agreements (SLA's)
  • Integration will emerge as the key enabler and choke point. End users need an enterprise apps strategy for cloud computing that addresses the “I” word – Integration.  SOA principles must be enforced including support for canonical data models and business process haromonization.  Integration must focus on data mapping, business process orchestration, quality of service, and master data management.
Figure 2.  The Software Insider Tech Ecosystem Model For The Cloud The Bottom Line For Buyers  - Use The Tech Ecosystem Model To Build Out Your Technology Roadmap And Procurement Strategy. The Software Insider Tech Ecosystem Model can provide a key tool in mapping out the long term apps strategy.  Use the suggested five step approach to determine how cloud computing can support existing and future business requirements:
  1. Start by listing the vendors in each category. Jot down the names of every vendor you own into each category (see Figure 3.)
  2. Identify the key business processes supported. Place business processes at the high level and line them back to the vendors.
  3. Evaluate the application portfolio.  As consolidations occur, business strategy should align with applications strategy.  Applications strategy will then align with procurement strategy to optimize the Business Technology Value equation.
  4. Build out your solution ecosystem plan. In some cases, you will consolidate vendors. In others, you will acquire new solutions.  Sometimes, the last-mile will require custom development.  Take a balanced approach to the portfolio.  Keep in mind how you sunset legacy applications and solutions.
  5. Apply model to the contract strategy. This model applied to Seven Simple Steps To Successfully Negotiate Software Contracts will drive business value in technology projects.
Figure 3.  Sample Solution Providers Across The Four Layers Of Cloud Computing The Bottom Line For Sellers (Vendors) - Use The Tech Ecosystem Model To Plan Partnerships and M&A Strategies Use the Software Insider Tech Ecosystem Model  to determine when to partner, build, or acquire a capability. Determine which category to invest in Cloud Computing based on R&D budget and organization's size.  Evaluate each category by:
  1. Examining the current footprint. Fill in the model to see what you own (see Figure 3).
  2. Identifying adjacent profit pools. Look at potential install base up-sell, cross-sell, and attach rate opportunities.
  3. Determining potential profit margins and ROI. Look at average profit margins.  Identify and rank the top categories.
  4. Ranking opportunities by competitive threat. Determine which piece to commoditize next in the value added solutions.  Figure out which areas are high growth value added solutions to invest.
  5. Put together 3 year strategy. Face it, 3 years is too long but you need a time frame.  Identify acquisition prices and partnership criteria.
Your POV. Buyers, do you need help with your Cloud and SaaS strategy?  Ready to put the expertise of over 1000 software contract negotiations to work?  Give us a call!  Sellers and vendors, want to expedite your ability to effectively partner or test your M&A idea?  You can post or send on to rwang0 at gmail dot com or r at softwaresinsider dot org and we’ll keep your anonymity. Please let us know if you need help with your next gen apps strategy, overall apps strategy, and contract negotiations projects.  Here’s how we can help:
  • Designing a next gen apps strategy
  • Providing contract negotiations and software licensing support
  • Demystifying software licensing
  • Assessing SaaS and cloud
  • Evaluating Cloud integration strategies
  • Assisting with legacy ERP migration
  • Planning upgrades and migration
  • Performing vendor selection
  • Renegotiating maintenance
Resources And Related Research: 20100621 A Software Insider's POV - R "Ray" Wang - "Research Report: How SaaS Adoption Trends Show New Shifts In Technology Purchasing Power" 20100322 A Software Insider’s POV – R “Ray” Wang -”Understanding The Many Flavors Of Cloud Computing/SaaS” 20091222 A Software Insider’s POV – R “Ray” Wang “Tuesday’s Tip: 10 Cloud And SaaS Apps Strategies For 2010″ 20091208 A Software Insider’s POV – R “Ray” Wang – “Tuesday’s Tip: 2010 Apps Strategies Should Start With Business Value” 20091012 A Software Insider’s POV – R “Ray” Wang – “Research Report: Customer Bill of Rights – Software-as-a Service” 20090714 Sandhill.com – R “Ray” Wang – “Opinion: Moving to a SaaS Offensive” 20090602 A Software Insider’s POV – R “Ray” Wang ” Tuesday’s Tip: Now’s The Time To Consider SaaS Software Escrows” 20081028 A Software Insider’s POV – R “Ray” Wang “Tuesday’s Tip: SaaS Integration Advice” Next In The Series
  • Overview
  • Cisco
  • Dell
  • HP
  • IBM
  • Microsoft
  • Oracle
  • Salesforce.com
  • SAP
Reprints Reprints can be purchased through the Software Insider brand or Altimeter Group.  To request official reprints in PDF format, please contact r@softwareinsider.org. Disclosure Although we work closely with many mega software vendors, we want you to trust us.  For the full disclosure policy please refer here. Copyright © 2010 R Wang and Insider Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Buy Cheap Epogen Online

Published on July 27, 2010 by R "Ray" Wang


Welcome to a multi-part series on The Software Insider Tech Ecosystem Model.  Subsequent posts will apply the model to these leading vendors:

  • Cisco

  • Dell

  • HP

  • IBM

  • Microsoft

  • Oracle

  • Salesforce.com

  • SAP


The aggregation of these posts will result into a research report available for reprint rights.

Business Models Converge During Recessions Buy cheap epogen online, Is your technology provider a hardware vendor or a software vendor. Does your System Integrator now provide solutions in the cloud. These questions will continue as models converge.  Hardware, kopen goedkope casodex, software, For zometa online, and system integration vendors must reinvent new models of revenue.  The economic recession has forced business model shifts at the major technology companies.  The goal - own the largest share of both the business and IT technology budget,  As these sellers attack new profit pools, buyers can expect continued convergence of business models because:

  • Hardware companies seek higher margins. Most hardware vendors face single digit margins in their core business.  To bolster margins, evista online cheap, many vendors acquired system integration firms.  For example, Order gleevec online without prescription, HP purchased EDS and Dell acquired Perot Systems.  The next logical step requires the hardware vendors to get into software.  Software margins hover from 10% to 50% depending on the market.  Expect a hardware vendor such as Cisco, Dell, or HP to acquire a SaaS based company to move into the software business.

  • Service providers build differentiated intellectual property (IP) using the Cloud, αγοράζουν φτηνά arimidex. Service providers should go on the SaaS/Cloud offensive if they want to deliver rapid innovation to customers and break the cycle of dependence on packaged apps vendors.  Service providers can take market share through SaaS by investing in white spaces in the solution road map with verticals and other pivot points that have not been well served.  In addition, Acquistare a buon mercato arimidex, expect forms of SaaS BPO to emerge as clients seek best of breed SaaS and hybrid deployments.

  • Software companies use Cloud to transform into information brokers. SaaS and Cloud deployments provide companies with hidden value and software companies with new revenues streams.  Data will become more valuable than the software in the Cloud.  Three areas of growth will include benchmarking, trending, ordering zometa pill, and prediction.

  • Companies by-pass software vendors for competitive advantage. Roper Industries acquisition of iTrade Networks on July 26th, Connecticut CT Conn., proves a key point.  Smart and innovative companies will put custom development in the cloud to meet last-mile solution needs that packaged apps vendors or system integrators fail to deliver.  Companies may also acquire software vendors if they can't build the solution.


Budget Authority Shifting From IT To Business

A recent survey of 23 companies shows that while the IT budget appear to have shrunk, the overall technology spend has increased.  Key findings:


  • IT budgets trending down. CIO's focused on cost savings and efficiency.  Among the 23 CIO's, few IT budgets have increased and most have decreased between 3 and 8 percent.  IT departments must do more with less.

  • Business technology spending up, buy cheap epogen online. Growing SaaS and cloud adoption improve the outlook by business units to procure their own solutions.  Among the 23 organizations surveyed, Delaware DE Del., most line of businesses grew technology spend by 5 to 7%.  Business leaders now call the shot on more and more technology decisions

  • IT to BT spending ratios nearing 50-50. Survey showed that the average percentage of tech spend for IT was 53.7%.  The average percentage of tech spend for business reached 47.3%.  Expect the business technology budgets to surpass IT in 2012.


The Tech Ecosystem Model Provides Multi-dimensional Insights

The Software Insider Tech Ecosystem Model examines technology solution categories on 4 dimensions (see Figure 1):


  • Tools for creation. Ordering zometa overnight delivery, This category describes technologies that can be reused to create new solutions.

  • Tools for distribution. This category describes channels and distribution models to deliver client value.

  • Value added solutions. This category describes high margin, cheap cytoxan online cheap, high value solutions for clients.  A plethora of vendors by industry, Massachusetts MA Mass., geography, market size, and role populate this category

  • Commoditized infrastructure, cheapest cytoxan. This category describes technologies that should be optimized.  A handful of vendors typically dominate this category.


Figure 1.  The Software Insider Tech Ecosystem Model

The Bottom Line For Buyers  - Use The Tech Ecosystem Model To Build Out Your Technology Roadmap And Procurement Strategy.

The Software Insider Tech Ecosystem Model can provide a key tool in mapping out the long term apps strategy.  Use the suggested five step approach:


  1. Start by listing the vendors in each category. Jot down the names of every vendor you own into each category.

  2. Buy cheap epogen online, Identify the key business processes supported. Place business processes at the high level and line them back to the vendors.

  3. Evaluate the application portfolio.  As consolidations occur, Epogen online kaufen, business strategy should align with applications strategy.  Applications strategy will then align with procurement strategy to optimize the Business Technology Value equation.

  4. Build out your solution ecosystem plan. In some cases, you will consolidate vendors, Mississippi MS Miss.. In others, Billiga iressa apotek, you will acquire new solutions.  Sometimes, the last-mile will require custom development.  Take a balanced approach to the portfolio.  Keep in mind how you sunset legacy applications and solutions.

  5. Apply model to the contract strategy. This model applied to Seven Simple Steps To Successfully Negotiate Software Contracts will drive business value in technology projects.


The Bottom Line For Sellers (Vendors) - Use The Tech Ecosystem Model To Plan Partnerships and M&A Strategies

Use the Software Insider Tech Ecosystem Model  to determine when to partner, New Hampshire NH N.H., build, Buy casodex online cheap, or acquire a capability. Evaluate each category by:


  1. Examining the current footprint, buy cheap epogen online. Fill in the model to see what you own

  2. Identifying adjacent profit pools. Look at potential install base up-sell, cross-sell, buy casodex online legally, and attach rate opportunities.

  3. Determining potential profit margins and ROI. Cheapest epogen in the world, Look at average profit margins.  Identify and rank the top categories.

  4. Ranking opportunities by competitive threat. Determine which piece to commoditize next in the value added solutions.  Figure out which areas are high growth value added solutions to invest.

  5. Put together 3 year strategy. Face it, Michigan MI Mich., 3 years is too long but you need a time frame.  Identify acquisition prices and partnership criteria.


Your POV.

Buyers, Nebraska NE Nebr., do you need help with your apps strategy and vendor management strategy?  Ready to put the expertise of over 1000 software contract negotiations to work?  Give us a call!  Sellers and vendors, want to expedite your ability to effectively partner or test your M&A idea?  You can post or send on to rwang0 at gmail dot com or r at softwaresinsider dot org and we’ll keep your anonymity.

Please let us know if you need help with your next gen apps strategy efforts.  Here’s how we can help:


  • Providing contract negotiations and software licensing support

  • Evaluating SaaS/Cloud options

  • Buy cheap epogen online, Assessing apps strategies (e.g. single instance, zometa ordine on-line, two-tier ERP, Texas TX Tex., upgrade, custom dev, packaged deployments”

  • Designing end to end processes and systems

  • Comparing SaaS/Cloud integration strategies

  • Assisting with legacy ERP migration

  • Engaging in an SCRM strategy

  • Planning upgrades and migration

  • Performing vendor selection


Next In The Series

  • The Cloud

  • Cisco

  • Dell

  • HP

  • IBM

  • Microsoft

  • Oracle

  • Salesforce.com

  • SAP


Reprints

Reprints can be purchased through the Software Insider brand or Altimeter Group.  To request official reprints in PDF format, Colorado CO Colo., please contact r@softwareinsider.org.

Disclosure

Although we work closely with many mega software vendors, we want you to trust us.  For the full disclosure policy please refer here.

Copyright © 2010 R Wang and Insider Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.

Similar posts: Order cheap epogen online. Order gleevec no prescription. Buy arimidex online cheap. Mississippi MS Miss.. Irresa.
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Order Gleevec No Prescription

Published on March 15, 2010 by R "Ray" Wang

Recent Conversations With Executives Confirm Demand For Social CRM
 Order gleevec no prescription, Good news. Massachusetts MA Mass., Organizations see an opportunity to tap into the proliferation of social networking channels for their CRM initiatives.  Speaking with 23 business leaders over the past 10 days, it became obvious that Social CRM initiatives were top of mind for a few reasons:


  • Pressure from the boardroom. Social networking achieves top of mind status.  Board of directors have asked their executives to "look into the issue".

  • Success through internal pioneers, billig kaufen gleevec. Buy cheap capecitabine online, In every organization, a few Social CRM pioneers have emerged, ordering arimidex no rx. Cytoxan for sale, They kick-off small pilots, test the waters, billig kaufen casodex, Arimidex without a prescription, and fund new projects from their successes.

  • Fear of falling behind. Organizations that have survived the past two business cycles know that they need to respond to change or be changed.  e-commerce provided good lessons learned in how channels could transform business modes.


Social CRM Must Move Beyond 'Just Another Channel' Status

Bad news!  Most executives believe that Social is just another channel and often liken Social CRM to e-commerce.  Others felt this was just an extension of CRM with a social flavor.  Those that take this point of view miss the point because Social CRM:


  • Reflects a customer driven cultural shift, cheap evista without prescription. Organizations should realize that customer behavior has changed and social networking puts the power into the hands of the customer.  Conversations occur unfettered at a peer-2-peer level and proliferate as each new social medium emerges.  Organizations must influence not control.

  • Requires an internal transformation. Existing customer facing processes must adapt to these rapid changes.  Staff must be trained.  Management teams must build a good socialgraph and foundation (SCRM Use Case F1 - Social Customer Insights) to constantly reassess where to allocate and reallocate resources.   Organizations will have to invest in training and change management to tie back to existing CRM processes.

  • Realizes the limitations of and synergies with existing CRM solutions, order gleevec no prescription. Goedkope gleevec apotheek, Without accounting for new behaviors, patterns, ordering gleevec pill, αγοράσετε iressa, and processes, legacy CRM solutions lack a social design.  Built for automation, epogen without a prescription, Wisconsin WI Wis., most lack social relationship management features.  Social CRM will have to integrate back to legacy systems and master data management to succeed.  However, existing CRM solutions will need an upgrade.


The Bottom Line - All Social CRM Ecosystem Players Must Do Their Part

Social CRM requires significant organizational transformation for success.  In fact, Rabatt kaufen cytoxan, αγοράζουν online capecitabine, Social CRM projects can fail in the same manner as other CRM projects have in the past (via Michael Krigsman). However, the customers and the industry can ensure success through better ecosystem coordination.   Each side must describe and balance the holistic dependencies required for success.  For example:


  • Customers. With the most at stake, order gleevec no prescription, Rhode Island RI R.I., customers must acknowledge the upfront risks.  As pioneers, they must invest in the change management required for success, För arimidex online, Cheap gleevec, challenge the vendors on their promises, and push their system integrators to close the gap between vendor promises and customer requirements.

  • Advertising and marketing agencies, order epogen overnight delivery. Kjøpe zometa, Because the creative teams have mindshare with the CMO and line of business executives, care must be given to highlight the technology dependencies to existing systems and the constraints in today's technologies.  Many have been burned by previous promises from CRM.  Advertising and marketing agencies should partner with the social CRM vendors and system integrators to ensure that expectations can be fulfilled.

  • System integrators (SI's), Wyoming WY Wyo.. Order arimidex no rx, Often close to the CIO and IT side of the house, system integrators need to enable the requirements from the advertising and marketing agencies.   SI's should partner with the agencies to coordinate on proposals to deliver the technology that supports business vision and value.  Partnerships with the Social CRM vendors should focus on understanding road map, αγοράσετε arimidex έκπτωση, Ordering evista, direction, and vertical opportunities.

  • Social CRM vendors. Most vendors start with their purpose built best of breed solutions.  Over time these solutions will evolve into suites. In the meantime, social CRM vendors need to stay close to meet customer requirements, partner with system integrators on vertical opportunities, and work closely with the creative teams to understand emerging requirements.


Your POV

Share with us your successes in the Social CRM ecosystem.   You can post or send on to rwang0 at gmail dot com or r at softwaresinsider dot org and we’ll keep your anonymity or better yet, join the community.

Please let us know if you need help with your Social CRM efforts.  Here’s how we can help:


  • Assessing social CRM readiness

  • Developing your social CRM  strategy

  • Vendor selection

  • Implementation partner selection

  • Connecting with other pioneers

  • Sharing best practices


Related resources and links

20100305 A Title Would Limit My Thoughts - Mitch Lieberman "Is Business Culture Required To Find Value in Social CRM?"

20100305 Research Report: Social CRM - The New Rules Of Relationship Management

20090831  Monday’s Musings: Why Every Social CRM Initiative Needs An MDM Backbone


Copyright © 2010 R Wang and Insider Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Order Cheap Iressa Online

Published on February 22, 2010 by R "Ray" Wang

Order cheap iressa online, Apps Users Seek Third Party Maintenance For Cost, Value, and Service

Updated surveys from inquiries, client conversations, and user group meetings show a 113.8% increase in interest in third party maintenance (3PM) services from Q3 2009 to Q1 2010 (see Figure 1).  Key factors stem from (see Figure 2.):


  • Continuing cost pressures. Louisiana LA, Budgets continue to be at flat or have been reduced.  Organizations must do more with less.  Add pressures to innovate, CIO's must find fat without trimming bone.

  • Gaining minimal value in maintenance services, West Virginia WV W.Va.. Buy arimidex online legally, Most felt they were paying too much for too little.  An 8 point jump reemphasized the issue with a lack of tiered offerings.

  • Declining plans to upgrade. Worsening economic conditions from Q3 2009 to Q1 2010 led a 27 point increase in interest in 3PM.  Expect many respondents to change their point of view (POV) as economic conditions improve.

  • Expecting better service, cytoxan ordine on-line. Kjøpe billig epogen, Service continues to play a key factor in decisions to go to 3PM.  Over 60% of respondents had experienced poor levels of service.

  • Slowing pace of vendor innovation. Greater than half of respondents believe their vendor has been too slow to deliver new capabilities, order cheap iressa online. These include SaaS deployment options or key functionality in areas such as strategic HCM and social CRM.

  • Disliking the vendor, Maryland MD Md.. Buy iressa, About 1/3 of the survey respondents have bad experiences with their vendor.  Many times it comes from sales person or support rep experiences.

  • Delivering self support. Almost 30% of respondents already provide their own support.  These organizations have no need to pay maintenance when they are doing all the work.


Figure 1, order arimidex without prescription. Order capecitabine online cheap, Interest in 3PM grows 113.8% over 2 quarters.

screen-shot-2010-02-20-at-44436-pm


Figure 2. Order cheap iressa online, Cost Pressures, Value, And Decision Not To Upgrade Drive Current Trends to 3PM

screen-shot-2010-02-20-at-44448-pm


Limited Options Exist For Most Enterprise Apps Customers

Of the 101 respondents in Q1 2010 interested in 3PM, Oracle (88.1%) and SAP (76.2%) users expressed the greatest interest in seeking independent services (see Figure 3).  Over 80% of the users were from large companies greater than 1000 employees across the globe.  Most SAP users surveyed have mixed environments with Siebel, JD Edwards, and PeopleSoft joint installations.  Unfortunately, very few public options exist for sole SAP users (see Figure 4).  For example, SAP customers can only turn to Rimini Street.  Oracle customers on PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, and Siebel also have limited choices with Rimini Street, netCustomer, and Spinnaker among the options.  IBM, Infor, Lawson, Computer Associates, Epicor, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle E-Business Suite and database customers have no options.  (Note: This data may not be completely statistically significant given the sample size of 240, but hopefully it provides some directional input.)

Figure 3. Oracle And SAP Users Drive Interest In 3PM

screen-shot-2010-02-20-at-44457-pm


Figure 4, Illinois IL Ill.. Cheap zometa online without prescription, Very Few Public Options Exist For Customers

screen-shot-2010-02-20-at-100912-pm


The Bottom Line For Users - Users And User Groups Must Band Together To Guarantee 3PM Rights. Don't Take These For Granted, buy evista online. αγοράζουν online arimidex,

Although the latest surveys show a 17 point increase in the belief that 3PM is a right, this right is under fire by big vendors such as Oracle who have taken legal actions against 3PM providers for improperly (i.e, farmacia evista barato. TomorrowNow) and allegedly (i.e, order cheap iressa online. Um casodex online, Rimini Street) violating intellectual property rights.  If providers have violated such laws, Oracle rightfully should defend its positions and those providers be punished.  However, cheap gleevec tablet, Epogen pill, there's a lot of money at stake.  For most vendors, maintenance represents 50% to 80% of their revenue stream.  Consequently, iressa without a prescription, Nebraska NE Nebr., users and user groups have a responsibility to:


  • Demand that their contracts include provisions that protect their right to 3PM

  • Require vendors to work out rules on how 3PM providers can deliver services without violating software IP provisions

  • Seek anti-trust class action with the US DOJ (i.e. Christine A, cheapest zometa price. Washington WA Wash., Varney) and the EU Compeition (i.e. Joaquín Almunia) against software vendors who hinder 3PM providers from providing services


Users and user groups must vigorously defend their positions in contracts and legal action or lose this right.  Failure will result in a continued software maintenance monopoly.  Success will ensure market competition and renewed innovation.  Attention: OAUG, District of Columbia DC D.C., Order epogen online, Quest, and SUGEN leadership your members need your help, Hawaii HI.
Figure 5.  A Growing Body Of Users Believe 3PM Is A Right

screen-shot-2010-02-20-at-44509-pm


The Bottom Line For Vendors - Proactively Address The Issue Or Expect A Groundswell Of Activism
 Order cheap iressa online, SaaS, subscription pricing, 3PM, and the economy provide a confluence of forces that will continue to attack maintenance revenue streams.  Many legal cases have been fought over this issue including IBM vs Amdahl and Geac vs Grace Consulting.  SAP's failed attempt to convince customers on the value of Enterprise Support led to a public relations disaster and a factor in the resignation of their CEO.  The result - many vendors considering price hikes held back.  In fact, some savvy software vendors retooled and restored the client -vendor relationship by:

  • Offering more entry points and tiers to support options. Ostaa halvalla evista, The three pillars of software maintenance and support policies still apply.  However, several vendors are now offering more tiers of support as lower entry points.  Two vendors have finalized plans to offer just the bare bones legal and regulatory updates.  Other vendors have made it easier to come back with maintenance amnesty plans.

  • Providing flexible maintenance policies. Vendors who change rigid policies have experienced success among customers.  Some Both Infor through Infor Flex and Micrsoft Dynamics allow like for like swap credits to migrate between existing products.

  • Renegotiating existing terms. Some vendors are helping clients meet the realities of the current market conditions. Big on the list is helping clients address shelf ware without repricing of contracts.  For clients who paid full maintenance on software that’s at least 4 years old, some vendors are offering to reduce up to 20% of the overall licenses not in use.  This leads to lower maintenance revenue but engenders good will among key clients.  Further, several vendors have allowed clients to apply credit towards another module as an alternative.

  • Delivering amnesty programs. Several vendors have allowed customers to return to maintenance programs after years of not paying.  Such programs play a key role in helping customers upgrade but should be used sparingly as customers may become accustomed to this practice.

  • Creating better peer forums to share information. Almost every vendor surveyed has a program to improve the online support capabilities.  Applying Social CRM use cases,  user generated content in peer forums tops the list of initiatives.  Other plans focus on sharing data on benchmarks, operational metrics, and best practices.

  • Assisting with vendor financing, order cheap iressa online. Clients seek access to financing, especially many in the mid-market who’s credit lines have been zapped.  Microsoft has led the charge by providing 0% financing for its Microsoft Dynamics ERP and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Customers.  Other vendors such as IBM, Infor, Oracle, SAP, Sage also offer vendor led financing programs that include hardware, implementation, training, and other services.

  • Lowering cost of usage and ownership. Though tops on the list as a conceptual practice, most vendors will need to roll out such initiatives over the next 24 months.  A few notable exceptions include Agresso with its VITA architecture which allows customers to rapidly make business and UI changes, Microsoft Dynamics customers who report back significantly lowered implementation and training costs compared to most vendors, and Epicor customers who report significant productivity gains with Service Connect.  SaaS customers already experience such gains.


Your POV

Take the new and improved survey on 3rd party maintenance and let us know if you need help with your enterprise apps strategy by:


  • Conducting an ROI on 3rd party maintenance options

  • Identifying cost reduction opportunities

  • Renegotiating your software contracts

  • Improving innovation via SaaS and other deployment options


Please post or send on to rwang0 at gmail dot com or r at softwaresinsider dot org and we’ll keep your anonymity.
Related resources and links

20091008 Deal Architect - Vinnie Mirchandani "Third Party Maintenance Is Really 4 Decades Old"

20071120 News Analysis: Too Early to Call the Death of Third Party Maintenance

20090210 Tuesday's Tip: Software Licensing and Pricing - Do Not Give Away Your Third Party Maintenance And Access Rights

20090709 Tuesday's Tip: Do Not Bundle Your Support and Maintenance Contracts.

20090622 News Analysis: Infor Flex Reflects Proactive Maintenance Policy

20090516 News Analysis: Rimini Street Launches Third Party Maintenance for SAP

20090504 News Analysis: Oracle Waives Fees On Extended Support Offerings

20080909 Trends: What Customers Want From Maintenance And Support

20080215 Software Licensing and Pricing: Stop the Anti-Competitive Maintenance Fee Madness

20090428 News Analysis: SAP and SUGEN Make Progress on Enterprise Support

20090405 Monday's Musings: Total Account Value, True Cost of Ownership, And Software Vendor Business Models

20090330 Monday's Musings: It's The Relationship, Stupid. (Part 2) - Stop Slashing The Quality Of Support And Maintenance

20090324 Tuesday's Tips: Five Simple Steps To Reduce Your Software Maintenance Costs

20090223 Monday's Musings: Five Programs Some Vendors Have Implemented To Help Clients In An Economic Recession

20081012 Monday's Musings: 5 Steps to Restoring Trust in the Vendor - Customer Relationship

20100114 News Analysis: SAP Revives Two Tier Maintenance Options

20091012 Research Report: Customer Bill of Rights - Software-as-a Service

20090912 News Analysis: Siemens Cancels SAP Maintenance Contract

20090910 Tuesday's Tip: Note To Self - Start Renegotiating Your Q4 Software Maintenance Contracts Now.

20090602 Tuesday’s Tip: Now’s The Time To Consider SaaS Software Escrows


Copyright © 2010 R Wang and Insider Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Buy Cheap Arimidex Online

Published on January 25, 2010 by R "Ray" Wang

Gains In SaaS Adoption Driven By Speed And Cost Savings...

Preliminary data from Q4 earnings data show continued traction among SaaS solutions.  Expect SaaS deployments to gain steam in 2010 as organizations finalize their SaaS apps strategies to take advantage of 7 key benefits:


  1. Richer user experience - Buy cheap arimidex online, SaaS apps bring Web 2.0 usability to the enterprise world through rich internet applications using Adobe Air, HTML 5, Microsoft Silverlight, and other tools.

  2. Rapid implementation - SaaS applications focus on configuration and integration, not hard core implementation.  Users can be up in weeks, not months.

  3. Frequent cycles of innovation - At present, most vendors introduce new functionality, enhancements, and bug fixes on frequent refresh cycles.  Some vendors provide as frequent as weekly updates, others - seasonal.

  4. Minimal upgrade hassles - Users focus on minimal testing scenarios and receive updates all at once.  In applications with significant regulatory and tax updates, SaaS applications reduce the cost of compliance by as much as 77%.

  5. Always on deployment - Organizations can expect average up-time levels at 99.95% or higher for most applications.  These results often exceed existing on-premise performance.

  6. Subscription pricing - Subscription pricing reduces the capital burden of common on-premise payment models.

  7. Scalability - Organizations can add or subtract users as needed without worrying about procuring new hardware and other infrastructure.


Moreover, latest Information Week Analytics survey reaffirms several key benefits of SaaS adoption - time to market and cost savings (see Figure 1).

Figure 1, purchase capecitabine online. Acheter capecitabine, Information Week Analytics Survey Confirms Trends In Adoption

Information Week Analytics 2010 SaaS survey

...Yet, Aggregated Information Provides The Differentiated Value To Clients

Despite the obvious benefits with SaaS deployments, buy zometa without prescription, Nebraska NE Nebr., three hidden advantages will emerge with market maturity:


  • Benchmarking. SaaS vendors sit on a tremendous treasure trove of data.  Participating organizations could opt-in to share secure and masked information for the purposes of business optimization.

  • Trending, köpa casodex. Order casodex no prescription, Organizations could also opt-in to identify larger market trends.  Trending information could be used to help organizations with planning.

  • Prediction. More sophisticated organizations will take SaaS vendor trending data and design new algorithms to support predictive analytics.  The richness and consistency of the data set will improve accuracy.


The Bottom Line For SaaS Vendors - Create Additional Value As An Information Broker

The end game for SaaS vendors may not be a re-creation of the on-premise world in the Cloud.  In fact, those vendors with a true multi-tenant SaaS model may turn out to find additional revenue streams as information brokers.  Expect demand for premium information-on-demand services to begin with benchmarking and evolve to prediction.  For example, imagine the benefits gained by organizations who consume the latest buying behavior data from their CRM vendors.  Organizations could turn to HCM vendors for geographical salary or hiring trends.  Customers of financial vendors could better predict credit risk factors.  A key requirement - customers must trust their SaaS vendor's data ownership and privacy policies before the industry makes this transformation.  With acceptance, vendors will have more reasons to move to a SaaS offense.

The Bottom Line For Organizations - Determine Your Data Rights Before You Sign The Contract

Organizations in SaaS deployments will want to preserve the their data rights and minimize their cost structures to consume aggregated information.  A few key areas should be considered:


  • Data usage, buy cheap arimidex online. Organizations generally assume that the data belongs to the organization while the software belongs to the SaaS vendor.  To be safe, South Carolina SC S.C., Capecitabine cheap, organizations will want to be clear that rights to use data will require an organization's permission.  In addition, the disposition of data should be made clear

  • Data access, buy zometa cheap. Bestill iressa online, Organizations should expect unhindered access to raw data, queries, order gleevec online without prescription, Order iressa, and extraction.  Access to data should not require additional fees.

  • Aggregated data cost. Organizations participating in aggregated data programs should be given preferential treatment not only in cost, Massachusetts MA Mass., Kjøpe capecitabine online, but also access to data.  The cost of this "stone soup" approach should be factored in pricing.


Your POV

Where are you in your SaaS deployment.   Have you thought about these long-term benefits, arimidex online store. Buy cheap arimidex online, Looking for assistance with crafting, validating, or reviewing your SaaS Apps Strategy?  Do you have a different point of view. Ordering iressa without prescription, Please post or send on to rwang0 at gmail dot com or r at softwareinsider dot org and we’ll keep your anonymity.

Other Useful SaaS Strategy Links

20091222 Tuesday's Tip: 10 Cloud and SaaS Apps Strategies For 2010

20091012 Research Report: Customer Bill of Rights - Software-as-a Service

20090602 Tuesday's Tip: Now's The Time To Consider SaaS Software Escrows

20081028 Tuesday's Tip: SaaS - Integration Advice

20090714 Sandhill.com - R 'Ray' Wang - "Opinion: Moving to a SaaS Offensive"

20070903 Trends: What's all the fuss about True SaaS, Texas TX Tex., Buy evista without prescription, OnDemand, Hosting, iressa no prescription. Kjøpe epogen online,

20091208 Tuesday's Tip: 2010 Apps Strategies Should Start With Business Value

20091109 Monday's Musings: SaaS, SOA, casodex pedido en línea, Utah UT, Integration and How To Make A Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich In The Cloud


Copyright © 2010 R Wang and Insider Associates, LLC, New Jersey NJ N.J.. Kansas KS Kans., All rights reserved. Order arimidex no prescription.

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Monday’s Musings: 10 Essential Elements For Social Enterprise Apps

Published on August 24, 2009 by R "Ray" Wang
Convergent trends fuel the push for new business solutions and platforms The future of enterprise software is evolving from web-based apps, business process platforms, and service-enabled products; to a new class of more connected, social, and collaborative business software solutions.  This transformation comes from advances in the Web 2.0 world and a growing realization that business solutions must reflect how people actually perform work.  These trends point to a convergence and expansion of 10 mega themes:
  1. Evolution versus revolution
  2. Top down versus bottom up
  3. Reactive versus proactive
  4. Transactional versus behavioral
  5. Strategic versus tactical
  6. Horizontal versus vertical
  7. Individual versus community
  8. Company versus customer
  9. B2B versus B2C
  10. Data generation versus data analysis
Future business solutions and platforms will expand beyond Enterprise 2.0 and the knowledge worker After much digestion of what's happening in the various Enterprise 2.0 models, (e.g. Dion Hinchcliffe's FLATNESSES mnemonic) and studying the Social CRM market, (e.g. CRM Magazine's June 2009 "Social Media Maturity Model"), what's next for business solutions or enterprise apps appears to be something bigger than usability, collaboration, social media, mobility, and technologies for the knowledge worker.  Enterprise 2.0. as defined by Andrew McAfee in his April 2006 MIT Sloan Management Review, touches on a world of emergent, free-form, collaboration that bring such Web 2.0 tools to the enterprise.  This definition provides a solid basis for building on key concepts in this emerging class of software solutions and platforms.  In fact, this new category moves beyond today's Enterprise 2.0 definition and most certainly beyond the three letter acronym world of ERP, CRM, HCM, PBS, SCM, etc. Ten elements define this next generation of enterprise business software solutions Recent conversations with software vendors, industry luminaries, and customers highlight 10 elements required for future solutions (see Figure 1.).  These elements include dynamic user experiences, business process focus, and community connectedness across 10 elements:
  1. Role-based design. Software designed around how users perform work including applicable security models.
  2. Consistent experience across channels & deployment options. Software that is agnostic to where or how that software is deployed and accessed.
  3. Contextual & relevant delivery of information. Software which understands what information to provide users at a point in time
  4. Configurable & adaptive. Software that can be modified to meet changing conditions.
  5. Outcome-focused & results-oriented. Software that tracks key metrics across an end to end process.
  6. Proactive, predictive, & actionable. Software that anticipates requests and supports decision making.
  7. Engaging for all stakeholders. Software that opens up the system to new types of users, collaborators, networks, and communities.
  8. Pervasive & natural collaboration. Software that embeds knowledge worker skills into existing work flows.
  9. Self-learning & self-aware. Software that tracks preferences and identifies patterns for future correlation.
  10. Secure & safe. Software that meets security and disaster recovery thresholds.
Figure 1. 10 Elements Of Social Enterprise Business Solutions and Platforms
[caption id="attachment_2929" align="aligncenter" width="820" caption="Source: Software Insider's Point of View - 10 Elements Of Social Enterprise Business Solutions and Platforms"]10 Elements Of Social Enteprise Apps[/caption]
The bottom line - customers ready to transition must align with the right hierarchy of needs and design an apps strategy
Many surveys and studies about software budgets show that organizations devote 2/3's to keeping the lights on and 1/3 to new projects and innovation.  In order to pave way for these new connected, social, and collaborative business software solutions, clients will have to fund these investments via apps strategies that deliver efficiency and massive reduction of costs.  These strategies will require a focus on business process optimization, technology strategies, and ecosystem leverage.  Form must follow function. Your POV. What elements are missing from the 10 for Social Enterprise Apps?  Do we have the right name for these solutions?  If not, what category of software should we be calling this?  Need assistance in crafting your future apps road map and strategy? Please post your comments here or send me a private email to rwang0 at gmail dot com or r at softwareinsider dot org. Copyright © 2009 R Wang. All rights reserved.

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Monday’s Musings: Users Now Expect More Advocacy From Their User Groups

Published on August 3, 2009 by R "Ray" Wang
Many user groups currently meet the basic requirements... Today's independent and vendor sponsored user groups serve a key role in building community among a common interest group.  Typical mission and objectives often include:
  • Creating an environment to share information and best practices
  • Exposing issues and limitations with a vendor's product and partner solutions
  • Soliciting member feedback and concerns about vendor and other solution providers
  • Leveraging collective power to influence the product road map of the vendor and other solution providers
  • Facilitating networking opportunities for a vendor's greater community and ecosystem
  • Educating members on new capabilities
  • Creating a forum for the vendor and other providers to discuss new initiatives.
...yet market needs creates demand for stronger leadership on key issues Comparisons of the November 2008 survey with the latest July 2009 update show that user group members seek greater assistance (see Figure 1).  In fact, rapid vendor consolidation, continual economic pressures, and high pressure sales tactics increase membership demands that user groups increasingly serve as client advocates in working with the vendors.  Key trends from the 2009 H2 191 respondent survey show sharp shifts such as:
  • ~52% increase to negotiate license discounts
  • ~50% decrease to communicate vendor news and updates
  • ~30% increase to address product issues, bugs, enhancement requests
  • ~24% increase to fight for maintenance fee reductions
  • ~22% increase to influence product road maps
Other interesting trends include:
  • ~10% decrease to liaise with software vendor executives
  • ~7% increase to deliver training and educational sessions
  • ~5% increase to benchmark performance
  • ~4% increase to share product and technical knowledge
  • ~3% decrease to provide recruiting opportunities
  • No change to facilitate peer networking opportunities
    Figure 1. Users Now Expect More Advocacy From Their User Groups [caption id="attachment_2827" align="aligncenter" width="850" caption="Source: Software Insider's Point of View User Group Survey - Copyright © 2009 R Wang. All rights reserved."]Users demand more action from user groups[/caption]
The bottom line - users need to play a more active role in both good and bad times Beyond paying the membership dues, user groups are only as successful as their active membership.   The challenge - strike a good balance in meeting membership needs and involving the membership in participating in key initiatives.  As users, now's the time to play a key role in transforming the user groups to meet key requirements and putting one of the best checks and balances in play.   Get active, get engaged and ask key questions to find out how effective your user group is? Some key questions user group members should ask:
  • How well does the user group align with my organization's key initiatives?
  • Is the user group business model aligned with the ability to advocate for the membership?
  • Does the user group have the leadership to publicly and privately raise issues with the vendor?
  • Do officers in the user group receive special privileges for their companies that members may not be privy to and how does that influence their ability to advocate on behalf of the membership?
  • How much say does the vendor have in the user group's decision making?
  • How independent is the user group?  How much money is received from the vendor versus outside sponsorships?  How does that money impact decision making?
The bottom line - vendors can proactively add value by addressing shifting requirements Strong user group leadership teams quickly respond to changing membership needs and leverage the power of the users and clients to publicly and privately create checks in the balance of power.  The goal - improve the vendor-client relationship via the influence of the membership.   Savvy vendors can address the enhancement request issue, product road maps, and performance benchmarks by:
  • Dedicating executive resources to user group initiatives
  • Increasing transparency in the requirements prioritization process
  • Creating resources to share benchmarking information
  • Reporting more frequently on progress.
Your POV. Do you feel your user group has given you value?  What are you looking from your user group? As a user what would you like to see from your user group?  Are you a software vendor trying to design better user group programs?  Would you like advice on how your program compares?  Feel free to share your experiences here or send me a private email to rwang0 at gmail dot com or r at softwareinsider dot org. Copyright © 2009 R Wang. All rights reserved.

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Monday’s Musings: Why On-Premise Vendors and SI’s Should Go on the Offense with SaaS

Published on July 13, 2009 by R "Ray" Wang
On-premise vendors still see SaaS as a loss leader due to huge ramp up and punishing revenue recognition rules When it comes to the topic of SaaS, many on-premise vendors appear to be living in denial, hoping that SaaS fails, and/or creating confusion in the market place.  These tactics have merit as a shift to SaaS requires plenty of work with minimal return and a destruction - disruption of the current business model.  In conversations with 61 vendors and building off of SaaS evangelist Jeffrey Kaplan's post (July 2, 2009, Seeking Alpha - "From the Vendor's Point of View: Why SaaS Sucks"), vendors who have made this transition or have started the investment put in heavy lifting in these activities must:
  • Re-architect apps
  • Find balance between configuration and optimization of SaaS platform
  • Design product road map and rollout strategy
  • Determine SLA's
  • Identify a hosting strategy
  • Craft pricing and licensing policies
  • Harmonize SaaS pricing with On-premise and other models
  • Create go to market strategy
  • Alleviate channel conflict with partners, resellers, distributors
After all this work to be ready for SaaS deployments, vendors also discover that FASB SOP 97-2 software revenue recognition rules prohibit them from immediately recognizing multi-year contracts. Even worse, subscription revenue can only be recognized on a month-to-month basis - leading to a long road to profitability.  In fact, vendors such as Lawson, estimated a 7 to 10 year break even period for a full SaaS model.  No wonder Harry Debes was fired up on how SaaS could be a fad in his interview with Victoria Ho at ZD Net last year.  In private, most software executives also echo such sentiments and wholeheartedly agree with his comments about the business model challenges. Yet, SaaS adoption moves beyond the Tipping Point in 2009 However, the confluence of recessionary forces, stalled innovation from many on-premise software vendors, and success of early SaaS pioneers such as SalesForce.com and NetSuite has put Software-as-a-Service into the mainstream.  Vendors can no longer resist the move to SaaS without negatively impacting their license sales and customer mind share.   Additional facts highlight the shift:
  • Forrester State of Enterprise Software 2009 survey results confirm significant adoption rates from 2008 to 2009. Of 1000 IT executives and decision-makers, 24% were interested/considering, 11% implemented or planning to expand, and 5% piloting SaaS solutions (see Figure 1).
  • Clients continue to vote with their budgets despite marketing FUD by many on-premise vendors on the perils of SaaS. Success Factors' win at Siemens for 420,000 employees, Workday's win at Flextronics for 240,000 employees, and Ultimate Software's win at P.F. Chiang's for 30,000 employees reinforces how SaaS is more than CRM and SMB.
  • Concerns over SaaS have dropped significantly over the past year. Successful deployments mitigate concerns and highlight the attitudinal shift towards acceptance.  Major decreases include integration issues (43%), total cost (31%), lack of customization (31%), complicated pricing models (30%), performance (23%), can't find the specific application (20%), security (17%), and lock in with existing vendor (17%) (see Figure 2).
Figure 1: Users expect to increase SaaS adoption in 2009 saas-deployment-2009 Source: Forrester
Figure 2.  Concerns over SaaS have dropped significantly over the past year 2009 Enteprise and SMB Survey - SaaS Concerns Declinet Source: Forrester
Defensive SaaS strategies by vendors miss the opportunity to take market share. As customer's continue to demand SaaS solutions for rapid deployment, pay-as-you-go pricing models, and timely innovation, traditional on-premise vendors without a SaaS offering must now explain, defend, or develop their own SaaS story.  Concerns about the impact of SaaS have many vendors in defensive mode.  Defensive strategies have included:
  • Creating counter marketing about SaaS and the viability of the market
  • Responding with hosting options and financing options
  • Building SaaS options for a limited set of popular SaaS solutions such as sales force automation (29%), strategic HCM (29%), and customer service and support (27%) (See Figure 3.)
At first glance, mega vendors such as SAP and Oracle have started with the first two points and are evolving to the third.  They aim to counter the success of Ariba, SalesForce.com, Success Factors, Taleo, Workday, and Ultimate Software with their own offerings.  SAP's OnDemand for LE release and John Wookey's ComputerWorld UK interview by Mike Simons, confirms that the strategy will include "CRM on-demand and e-sourcing, with expense management set for a 2010 release."  Wookey's approach appears to first shore up areas where SAP customers have been defecting and then worrying about what's next (see Note 1).  Meanwhile, discussions with Oracle product teams also hint that a release of 5 to 9 SaaS offerings to complement Oracle Siebel CRM OnDemand offerings could be announced soon.  This defensive strategy shores up competitive SaaS solutions such as incentive comp, procurement, and strategic HCM.
Figure 3.  Rate of adoption of key SaaS solutions show significant interest in CRM and other areas 2009 Enterprise and SMB Survey SaaS Interest Areas Source: Forrester
The bottom line -SaaS gives software vendors and system integrators an opportunity to take market share. Instead of playing defense, vendors should look at the opportunity to take market share through SaaS.  SaaS vendors and their investors have realized they can target any install base and win by providing compelling functionality.  Why shouldn't on-premise vendors bite the bullet and go on the offense?  To make this work software vendors would want to take advantage of their partner ecosystems and customers to extend capabilities beyond what's being delivered in on-premise.  Vendors must make an initial investment in a SaaS/PaaS platform, agile development methodologies, and integration technologies to support hybrid deployment options.  From there, white spaces in the product road map will provide direction into the future opportunities such as vertical and other pivot points that have not been well served.  SAP's acquisition of Clear Standards for carbon compliance, NetSuite's acquisition of OpenAir for project based solutions, and Intuit's acquistion of Entellium for CRM highlights examples of going on the offensive with SaaS.  Of equal importance, system integrators can shift the balance of power and deliver new IP via SaaS solutions while reducing their dependency on the mega vendors.
Recommendations: 7 best practices for crafting a SaaS strategy at an on-premise vendor Imagine you could start from scratch and build a new software company.  That's the question I posed to 61 software executives this year.  Most stated they would start with a SaaS deployment option for the scale and the business model.  Now what to do if you are an on-premise vendor?  Answer - build a separate SaaS software division within an on-premise software company.  This could be the next trend among the on-premise vendors for both investment and revenue recognition reasons.  What would be a good strategy:
  1. Reuse similar business process parts as the on-premise product
  2. Harmonize the data model and common objects
  3. Build a brand new RIA based UI and UX
  4. Assume that all data sources will be heterogenous
  5. Design the product to run stand alone
  6. Attack white spaces of new growth in a competitor's install base
  7. Keep a PaaS platform in mind to attract partners and customers to extend the solution
Your POV. Totally turned off by SaaS? In the midst of a SaaS strategy? Ready to embark on a SaaS strategy?  If you need assistance, don't hesitate to reach out?  Please post your point of view here or send me a private email to rwang0 at gmail dot com. Note 1: The large enterprise (LE) SaaS platform will not come from NetWeaver or SAP's SME Business by Design (ByD) technology, but come from the acquired Frictionless platform.  While this may leave some SAP customers concerned, Wookey and product super stars Kevin Nix and Peter Lim (of Siebel fame) counter by highlighting where SAP components will be reused and highlighting the home base integration advantage.
As also seen in the July 14th, 2009 SandHill.com"Moving to a SaaS Offensive"
Copyright © 2009 R Wang. All rights reserved.

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Monday’s Musings: Industry Vertical Pivot Points Still Matter Most

Published on July 6, 2009 by R "Ray" Wang
Pivot points represent a market segmentation approach used by many companies to determine market demand, define new products, assign sales territories, service customers, and put boundaries around customer sets.  Since September 2009, over 500 enterprise software decision makers were asked which one pivot point would they prefer their software vendor focus on.  The four key pivot points include market segment, geography, industry, and role.  To elaborate:
  • Market segment - standard definitions of size whether it be by revenue (e.g. $0-249M, $250-499M, $500-999M, $1,000-4,999M, $5,000-9,999M, $10,000-19,999M, >$20,000M)  or by employee count (e.g. 0-49, 50-99, 100-249, 250-499, 500-999, 1000-2499, 2500-4999, 5000-9999, 10,000-19,999, 20,000-49,999, >50,000).
  • Geography - physical and cultural location of where primarily business is conducted (e.g. North America, South America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, CIS, Middle East, North Africa, Africa, India, Greater China, APAC, Oceania, ANZA, etc.)
  • Industry - industry expertise or vertically related business functions often generated by SIC code or broad categories (e.g. Discrete Manufacturing, Process Manufacturing, Retail/Wholesale Distribution, Services, Public Sector, Healthcare/Life Sciences)
  • Role - classification by job functions and titles (e.g. CEO, COO, CFO, CMO, VP of HR, VP of Security, Architect, Chief Legal Officer, etc.)
Respondents were forced to choose the one pivot point they felt would be most relevant to their needs.  The results are as follows:
Pivot Point Preferences

(Survey of 527 enterprise and sme/smb software decision makers from phone, tweets, email, and in-person interactions from September 2008 to June 2009

The bottom line - end users should demand vertical expertise The message resonates loud and clear - users seek more vertical expertise from vendors.  Making minor extensions to support an industry may not be enough in today's market.  As industry requirements increase and require software solutions to provide support, end users must demand greater levels of innovation and investment into vertical specific requirements.  Given how much money has been spent on maintenance and support, end users should take an active role in building the right level of dialogue with vendors:
  • Request to join customer advisory boards. Often customer advisory board members have insight into the product direction and future functionality decisions.  Some vendors such as SAP, Oracle, Lawson, and Microsoft hold regular advisory board meetings with end users, senior management, product teams, and analysts to define, prioritize, and test requirements.  These meetings often result in a status report on priortiziation and progress in delivering the requested functionality.
  • Influence existing user groups. User groups may already provide industry specific forums where the vendor and the end users have existing channels of dialogue.  Determine how quickly it has taken a vendor to deliver on promised functionality.  If it's been more than 12 months and its a common request among 80% of the users, then it's time to rally the end users for some change/
  • Rally around industry trade groups. Take the time to see what standards have been set by industry trade groups.  As vendors modernize their software architectures to support web services and SOA, trade groups could provide a key opportunity and forum to define common business process, architecture, and meta data standards.
The bottom line - vendors should keep focusing on verticals and micro-verticals By a 3 to 1 margin, software decision makers resonate most with verticals.  This continues a trend where customers seek deeper functionality by verticals and micro-verticals in their solutions.  Vendors should take the following 5 actions to improve vertical relevance:
  • Focus on a select number of verticals based on vendor size. Most software vendors under $500M have the bandwidth to focus on 3 to 5 verticals while those between $500M and $1B can handle 7 to 9 verticals.  Agree on what you will not be focused on and treat other sales as opportunistic.
  • Build a road map of capabilities that should be part of the vertical solution. Identify the complete functionality of business processes that should be supported.  Include both internally built and externally provided solutions.
  • Identify solution centric ecosystem ownership. Given the myriad of combinations and customer requirements to deliver the last-mile solutions, not one single software vendor can deliver all aspects of a solution.  Determine what part of the value chain will be delivered, externally sourced, or provided by a partner.  Keep in mind some customers may choose to extend on your platform as well.
  • Enable easy access and extension of the core platform. Design the solution with partnership and extension in mind.  Ecosystems provide the fastest way to build adoption of your software. As users and partners add IP and innovation to the core product, vendors gain natural barriers of entry and exit in a specific vertical and micro-vertical.  Customers may also seek to band together to build solutions or have a partner extend and industry solution for them.
  • Tie the pivot points together. One final point - don't make the mistake of just focusing on a vertical or one pivot point.  Take the time to cross segment by the other pivot points.  Vendors often find that these verticals may not fit as neatly across the board and that's okay.  Some solutions such as risk and compliance may have inherent appeal across a role such as a CFO and span verticals.  Keep in mind pivot points provide a guide but use common sense when building natural segments.
Related research of interest May 7th, 2007 "Solutions-Centric Ecosystems Disrupt The Enterprise Software World Order" August 22, 2007 "Avoiding Failure In Technology Partnerships" September 3, 2008 "How To Select A Software Partner Solution Offering"
Your POV. Got a similar view on pivot points?  Disagree on this assessment? As an end user which pivot point matters most to you and has your vendor delivered?  As a vendor, have you started to focus more on industry verticals? Identify yourself as a vendor, end user, media professional, etc.  To learn more about how to build your solution centric ecosystem, design a partner program, or extend your industry vertical strategy, feel free to reach out.  Post here or send me a private email to rwang0 at gmail dot com. Copyright © 2009 R Wang. All rights reserved.

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