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Enterprise
Ready, or Not –
SaaS Enters the Mainstream
Document: SSR-460
Date of Publication:
July 10, 2008
Number of Pages:
42
Lead Author(s):
Mike West, B. Guptill
Contributing Author(s): B. McNee, M. Koenig, C. Burns,
C. Beckham
Price: $1295.00 USD
(Single User License)
Report Overview:
The explosive growth of software-as-a-service (SaaS) may
be netted down to two core realities that will shape SaaS markets
for years to come:
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Users want SaaS throughout the enterprise, whether their
enterprises are ready for it or not; and
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SaaS is spreading throughout the enterprise, whether the
vendors – or their offerings – are ready to support and
deliver what users want, or not.
|
These
are two key conclusions that Saugatuck Technology Inc. examines in
its latest research study on SaaS, titled "Enterprise-ready
Or Not: SaaS Enters the Mainstream." The 42-page study
details the disruptive evolution, status, and future of SaaS within
user enterprises, from basic applications to cloud-based computing -
including the effects of these changes on vendor strategies,
offerings, and business models.
This
comprehensive study mines Saugatuck’s rich SaaS research program
to provide insight and guidance for users and vendors regarding:
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SaaS
adoption drivers, inhibitors, and strategies; |
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SaaS’
evolution into core, critical business processes; |
|
The
dramatic shift among providers toward integrative,
platform-based services – including updates and refinements of
Saugatuck’s visionary market adoption and evolution models;
and |
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User,
ISV and provider issues, strategies and tactics for managing
SaaS transitions. |
“Enterprise
Ready, or Not – SaaS Enters the Mainstream”
includes data, analysis, insight and guidance based on Saugatuck’s
market-leading SaaS research, including our 2008 worldwide user
survey conducted with BusinessWeek Research Services, briefings and
interviews with 30 leading and emerging SaaS providers, and in-depth
interviews with user executives in key markets.
Press
Release / Media, BLOG and Podcast Coverage
Executive
Summary:
Read
this report to learn:
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SaaS use is expanding dramatically while becoming more
complex. What is SaaS really being used for by firms
worldwide, and where will it be used in the next 12 to 36
months?
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The move from SaaS to “cloud computing” is a key
shift for user and vendor business. How much of a role
will SaaS – including on-demand infrastructure services
– play in core enterprise IT infrastructure and systems?
|
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SaaS is a business-driven decision. What are the
business challenges, factors and decisions driving – or
inhibiting - SaaS adoption by user firms?
|
|
The growth of SaaS remains unchecked, and unmanaged, by
a surprising number of user firms. What are user
executives’ strategies and tactics for acquiring,
deploying, and managing SaaS as part of business and as
part of IT?
|
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SaaS changes the nature of software markets and
competition. Where, how, and why will ISVs stumble as they
move to compete with SaaS, or as they work to become SaaS
providers themselves?
|
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As
we move toward an on-demand world linked to on-premise IT
and operations, what are and will be the most effective
business models and strategies for ISVs and SaaS providers
in the coming months and years? |
Research Highlights:
|
SaaS
not only continues to grow in successive waves of evolution
and adoption, but its complexity and capabilities are
accelerating. A confluence of business and technology tides
has combined to raise a fourth SaaS wave – a wave that
threatens to sweep IT and business up, together, and forward
in ways not previously experienced by users and vendors.
|
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Continuous
growth and innovation are core competitive requirements in
most SaaS markets – especially the ability to develop and
deliver updates and new releases on a quarterly (or more
frequent) basis, while addressing an ever-expanding array of
customer and partner desires and requirements for interfaces
and function.
|
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Users
are accepting and implementing SaaS as part of mainstream IT,
particularly in North America and
Europe
, where experience and satisfaction with SaaS provider
integration and customization capabilities are significantly
higher than in Asia-Pacific. This increasing, and more
mainstream, user acceptance is expected to move rapidly
to widespread user expectation of ever-increasing SaaS
capabilities and functionality directed at linking and
interoperating with on-premise systems. And as SaaS becomes
more integral to user business, user needs and demands for
customization and more unified and integrative platforms
increase. |
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As
the use (and value) of SaaS grows within user enterprises, so
does the need for management. Hence, SaaS providers are driven
to develop and deliver ever-more-sophisticated platform,
integration and management offerings. Providers are therefore
expanding and improving SaaS offerings to meet and exceed user
desire and demand, as well as to establish and extend their
competitive advantages.
|
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SaaS
enables change, and especially efficiency improvements in how
businesses operate as they increasingly model and manage
business processes that span on-premise and cloud-based
platforms. The use of third-wave SaaS thus enables, and in
turn requires, transformation of the business itself.
|
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“Cloud
Computing” actually becomes – in a very short time –
“Cloud Business.” It is the natural progression of SaaS,
the IT utility concept, and business process outsourcing and
transformation. It enables the delivery (and refinement) of
optimized IT and business simultaneously, in real-time and
on-demand, or more likely, as parts of selective outsourcing
strategies in a hybrid IT and business environment. |
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Cloud
Computing will evolve to into a series of converged platforms
for the delivery of on-demand infrastructure services, SaaS
enablement and cloud-based development. This vastly increases
the range of opportunities for SaaS providers as well as
software developers, code firms, and IT services providers. |
Table Of
Contents:
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Introduction: SaaS and the
Enterprise |
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Research
Highlights
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SaaS Growth and Change from 2003 to 2016 |
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What the Data Shows: A Snapshot of User SaaS Realities |
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The Next Wave: Platform-as-a-Service Enable Enterprise-Ready SaaS |
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The Changing Competitive Landscape |
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Strategic Planning Positions (SPPs) |
|
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SaaS Growth and Change from 2003 - 2016
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Wave I: Cost-effective Software Delivery |
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Wave II: Integrated Business Solutions |
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Wave III: Workflow-enabled Business Transformation |
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Strategic Planning Positions
(SPPs) |
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Next Wave: Cloud Computing |
|
Strategic Planning Positions
(SPPs) |
|
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What the Data Shows: A Snapshot of User SaaS Realities
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SaaS Presence Right Now - Holding Steady? |
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SaaS Today - Top Ten Enterprise Uses |
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Business Expectations of SaaS |
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The Shift to Core Systems of Record |
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Strategic Planning Positions (SPPs) |
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SaaS Satisfaction - and Enterprise Readiness |
|
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The Next Wave: Platforms-as-a-Services Enable Enterprise-Ready SaaS
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SaaS and On-Demand Infrastructure Platforms: A Taxonomy |
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Strategic Planning Positions (SPPs) |
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The Changing Competitive Landscape
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The SaaS Transition: Business Challenges for ISVs |
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Strategic Planning Positions (SPPs) |
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Conclusion: What to Do About SaaS
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User Guidance |
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Vendor Guidance |
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Appendix A: User Research
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Survey Demographics |
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Appendix B: Vendor Research
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Survey Demographics |
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List of Figures and Sidebars:
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Figure
1: From Waves to the Cloud: Four Stages of SaaS Evolution |
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Figure
2: Cloud Computing and Platform-as-a-Service
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Figure
3: Six Categories of Cloud Computing
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Figure
4: Top Ten SaaS Users
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Figure
5: Top Five Business Benefits Expected from SaaS
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Figure
6: SaaS Application Adoption (Worldwide) 2008 - 2010
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Figure
7: Marketplace - SaaS and Core Mission-Critical Business Processes
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Figure
8: Top Areas of SaaS Satisfaction, 2008
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Figure
9: Percentage of SaaS Users Satisfied or Highly Satisfied
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Figure
10: Layers of SaaS Value
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Sidebar:
User Snapshots - SaaS Deployment Insights and Rationale
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Figure
11: A Taxonomy of Services Delivered by SaaS Platforms
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Figure
12: Best-Positioned SaaS Master Brands
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Figure
13: SaaS Master Brands - First Mention
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Sidebar:
Managed Services and SaaS |
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