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oftware as a ervice - aa100 uccess ecrets

aa 100 uccess ecrets - ow companies suc-

cessfully buy manage host and deliver softwareas a service (aa

erard Blokdijk

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aa 100 uccess ecrets

Copyright 2008 by erard Blokdijk

Notice of rights

All rights reserved. o part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any

means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or otherwise without the prior written

permission of the publisher.

Notice of Liability

The information in this book is distributed on an As s basis without warranty. hile every

precaution has been taken in the preparation of he book neither the author nor the publisher

shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or

alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by theproducts described in it.

Trademarks

any of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are

claimed as trademarks. here those designations appear in this book and the publisher was

aware of a trademark claim the designations appear as requested by the owner of the trademark.

All other product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion

only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. o

such use or the use of any trade name is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation

with this book.

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aa 100 uccess ecretserard Blokdijk

There has never been a aa manual like this.

100 uccess ecrets is not about the ins and outs of aa.

nstead it answers the top 100 questions that we are asked andthose we come across in forums our consultancy and education

programs. t tells you exactly how to deal with those questions

with tips that have never before been offered in print.

This book is also not about aas best practice and standards

details. nstead it introduces everything you want to know to be

successful with aa.

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Table of Contents

Application Hosting: Propelling Companies Forward ............... 10

Getting to Know Application Service Provider ........................... 12

ASP for Better Business Productivity ............................................ 14

The ASP SAAS Business Model Explained .................................. 16

The Many Benefits of SaaS ............................................................. 18

Do I Need Collaborative SaaS Solutions for My Business? ......... 20

How CRM Matches Up to Other Sectors of the SaaS Market ..... 22

How to Define SaaS ........................................................................ 24

The EMC SaaS Business Strategy .................................................. 26

Enterprise SaaS: Venturing into the Big League .......................... 28

The Lowdown on Erp Benefits ...................................................... 30

Microsoft Hosted Sharepoint, Taking File Sharing to a New

Level ................................................................................................. 32

Hosted Applications: Giving Birth to Virtual Companies .......... 34

Taking Care of Customers through Hosted CRM ....................... 36

The Advantages of Getting Hosted Software ............................... 38

IDC SaaS Outlook: The Future is Bright ....................................... 40

Microsoft SaaS, How to Apply for the Microsoft SaaS On-RampProgram ........................................................................................... 42

The MIT SaaS Model: Education for All Using SaaS ................... 44

Software As A Service (SaaS) : An Introduction to On Demand

Applications .................................................................................... 46

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On demand (and On the Go!) ....................................................... 48

On Demand SaaS: A Brief Backgrounder..................................... 49

On Demand Software: Surging Ahead to Meet Global Needs ... 51

Open source SaaS, Timely Realizations About Open Source SaaS

......................................................................................................... 53

Opsource: Giving SaaS a Needed Shot in the Arm ..................... 55

Opsource SaaS : Affordable meets Functional in one Value-

Packed software ............................................................................. 57

SaaS Business Benefits for ISVs and Customers .......................... 59

Tips for SaaS Companies to Increase ROI .................................... 61

SaaS Conference- The Details of SaaScon Revealed .................... 63

SaaS CRM and its Benefits Over Traditional CRM Applications65

SaaS Enablement: Delivering Software with Utmost Service..... 67

SaaS and ERP- Merging Two Concepts for Business Growth .... 69

The Many Benefits of SaaS Finance .............................................. 70

SaaS Growth: How to be Successful in the Industry ................... 72

The Many Benefits of SaaS Hosting .............................................. 74

Some Facts about the SaaS Industry ............................................. 76

Achieving the Proper SaaS Infrastructure.................................... 78

SaaS Integration- A Critical Aspect of the SaaS Process ............. 80

The Effects of Market Intelligence to SaaS Business ................... 81

The Right Approach in SaaS Marketing ....................................... 82

SaaS News: Keeping Updated with the Latest in Trends ........... 84

Understanding the Benefits of the SaaS Platform ....................... 86

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How to Go About in SaaS Pricing ................................................. 88

Advantages of SaaS Project Time and Tracking Management ... 90

Microsofts Approach to SaaS Project Implementation ............... 92

The Difference Youll Get by Subscribing to a SaaS Provider..... 94

SaaS Revenue to Increase Tremendously in Year 2010 ............... 96

The Result of the Growth in SaaS Sales ........................................ 98

The Ups and Downs of Salesforce as a SaaS Provider ............... 100

The Undying Issue Regarding SaaS Security ............................. 102

Win the Hearts of SMBs Through SaaS Integration ................... 103

SaaS Solution Your Way to Success ............................................ 105

The Need to Switch to SaaS Solutions........................................ 106

SaaS Strategy- The Basic Steps toward Successful SaaS

Implementation ............................................................................. 107

SaaS Summit- When SaaS Professionas Meet for Tomorrows

Software Industry ......................................................................... 109

The Changes in SaaS Trends- Are You Ready For It?................ 111

SaaS Vendors and Their Critical Role to Business Automation 112

When Industry Giants Aim to Dominate Over SaaS Vendors .. 113

Staying Afloat with SaaS .............................................................. 115

SaaS 2.0- An Exciting New Offering That Will Surely Blow You

Away .............................................................................................. 116

A Stress-Free Way of Managing Accounting with SaaS ............ 117

The Best Move You Can Make Now: SaaS Adoption ................ 118

What Do I Need To Know About SaaS Applications? .............. 119

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Some Thoughtful Considerations for SaaS Applications ..........121

SaaS Architecture: The Simple Foundation That Launched Many

Successful Businesses ....................................................................122

Powerful Solutions of SaaS-based Software ...............................123

Wonderful Benefits Brought About by SaaS...............................124

Billing Considerations for SaaS Efficiency ..................................126

SaaS Blogs are Here to Stay ..........................................................127

What Do SaaS Blogs Contain? ......................................................128

Thoughtful Considerations for Better SaaS Business Models ...129

The Value of Capital in the SaaS World ......................................130

How an SaaS Company Works for You ......................................131

Understanding the Need for SaaS Conferences .........................132

The Tricky Bits of SaaS Contracts ................................................134

Defining SaaS: A Closer Look ......................................................135

The Growing Trend in SaaS Delivery ..........................................136

Considerations for Optimum SaaS Development ......................137

The Establishment of SaaS Directories: Everyone Benefits .......139

Ease Up Your Productivity with SaaS Document Management

........................................................................................................140

The SaaS gov relationship in the SaaS industry .........................141

Bullish Performance of the SaaS Mod .........................................142

SaaS Model Trailblazing New Path for the Software Industry .144

Marketing the Solution in SaaS ppt and other Rich Media .......145

Ensuring Quality SaaS Service Means Market Dominance .......147

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Enhancing Customer Flexibility in Using SaaS Software .......... 149

SaaS vs ASP. Whats the Difference? .......................................... 151

SaaS Definition in Wiki ................................................................ 153

SaaS Wikipedia Gives Several Results ........................................ 154

Service Oriented Architecture: Creating a Virtual Global Village

........................................................................................................ 155

The Soa SaaS Marriage of Convenience ...................................... 157

An Introduction to the Software as a service (or SaaS) concept 159

Software as a Service SaaS: Promising Better Services .............. 161

Software as Service Signals a New Boom for Businesses .......... 162

Great Strides in Software Hosting Technology .......................... 164

Software Service: Delivering the Ultimate Computing Solution

........................................................................................................ 166

op SaaS Companies ...................................................................... 168

Why Are Top SaaS Companies Upbeat about the Potential of

SaaS? .............................................................................................. 170

Utility Computing Services can Slash IT Budget ....................... 171

What is SaaS? SaaS in Plain English ........................................... 173

Reasons Why SaaS is the Future for Online Service .................. 175

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10

Application Hosting: Propelling Com-

panies Forward

unning a server and maintaining an army of T personnel is

a big headache for most companies. Application hosting can solvethese miseries so that management teams can devote more of theirtime on the business side of things and less on T.

Basically application hosting is a type of business processoutsourcing. Application software and T environments of compa-nies will be remotely hosted by a third party application serviceprovider. Companies opting for this service gain the advantage ofreducing operational costs in maintaining a server installation andmaintenance of licensed software and managing a full departmentof technology specialists.

Companies pay only for the use of business applications on aper-use basis or more commonly for a fixed monthly fee. Companyfinancials can be easily managed because expense forecasts relatedto T infrastructure are fixed for a set period.

nforeseen budget disruption can also be eliminated if com-panies will take advantage of application hosting. ocal server

breakdowns or company-wide application crashes will definitelycause budget realignments because of costly repair or reinstalla-tion. All of these misfortunes can be averted through remoteapplication hosting.

A company can choose from a wide array of application ser-vice providers. This service has been in vogue for many years now.Companies who took advantage of this innovative technologygained an edge in terms of acquiring top of the line technology atminimum costs.

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There is no doubt that information and communicationtechnology is still the vehicle that propels businesses world wide. Acompany can get the best out of it through application hosting andsoftware service providers.

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12

Getting to Know Application Service

Provider

Application service provider business is one of the best ser-

vices that were spawned by modern nternet technology. Applica-tion service provider or A is a software solution model that

virtually rents out application program technologies to numerouscomputer program consumers.

Application service providers use standard hypertext trans-fer protocol and T to distribute and deploy computer applica-tions and software suites to end-users. n other words consumersonly need a computer a standard web browser and a reliablenternet connection in order to use specific programs for theircomputing needs.

An application service provider wholly owns the software orcomputer programs. nd users will have to pay a fee for its use.ome application service providers charge clients monthly orannual payments for services rendered while others charge users

whenever they use the service. n rare cases As may provide theservice free for a certain period. ts a marketing tactic of some

As in order to get potential customers or to widen their clientbase.

Application service providers also maintain the necessary in-frastructure to deliver the software to their clients. As run andmaintain their own powerful servers provide customer supportservices and they have their own technology specialists that keepthe system running. Computer programs can be accessed by clientsanywhere in the globe because As provide the software throughthe nternet and can be accessed by account holders.

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As provide big help for start-up and small companies andconvenience for large corporations. t can significantly lower thecost of every companys computing requirements.

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ASP for Better Business Productivity

orking in the big business arena of software technologywill mean locking horns with As at some point in your career.

But what is it actually? A or application service provider is abusiness that provides services to customers in a computer-basednetwork-efficient manner.

The software that is offered via an application service pro-vider is usually called on demand software or aa (software as aservice.

utting it in simpler terms the business provides their cus-tomers and clients easy access to any particular application pro-gram they desire using TT as a standard protocol.

The demand for As has slowly risen from its first intro-duction many years ago. t evolved from simply being a specializedVRIWZDUHEDFNLQWKHGD\WRWKHJRWRJX\RIHYHQVPDOODQGmedium scaled on line and web-based businesses now. urther-more the ever-increasing complexities of software have resulted in

bigger costs in its distribution to the eagerly awaiting (and highpaying end users.

But thanks to application service providers such complexi-ties and high costs of this software can be bid adieu.

Additionally the many issues regarding upgrading and en-hancements have been eliminated by the end firms as well firmlyplacing the responsibility of system management to the applicationservice providers themselves maintaining and making sure thatservices are up to date every hour of everyday (technical support

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and ensuring physical and electronic security as well as built insupport for more flexibility and seamless continuity of businesses.

t is no wonder that people are turning to As for theirbusiness needs.

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16

The ASP SAAS Business Model Ex-

plained

There are lots of acronyms today that are stirring the T in-

dustry. Asp aa soa and what have you. To avoid confusionhowever it should be noted that all of these refer to software ser-

vices.

t is a business model where a service provider offers the useof a specific computer program to consumers using the nternet asthe standard delivery vehicle. n simpler terms it means a providerrents the software to the consumer. The end user on the other handpays a certain subscription fee to the service provider.

The more popular term for this business model though isaa or software as a service. Actually public utilities like electrici-ty air travel and telephone services can be compared to aa.Consumers pay the services provided by an electric company or buya ticket to get the services of an airline company.

The reason is common sense because it would be very im-practical and expensive for a consumer to buy an airplane andmaintain it just to fly back home or go to a business trip.

The analogy is perfect for software services. A company willhave to build their own T environment maintain the server hiretechnicians and experts buy expensive software install it on mainframes deploy it on a A etc.

These would be very expensive time consuming and suresources of big headaches. oftware service providers offer to solvethis by using their own servers to deploy the computer program to

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the consumer. t virtually rents out the software and the user onlyneeds a C and an nternet connection.

aa business model is a win-win solution for the serviceproviders and end users. The customer cut their T costs whiletheir subscription to the service increases the income of softwareservice providers.

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The Many Benefits of SaaS

aa also known as oftware as a ervice provides conveni-ence to both customers and clients. oftware companies today

believe that the on-demand software applications are the wave ofthe future and will totally eradicate traditional business software.any aa companies produce applications are now being sold as aservice that is paid as-needed. The benefits of aa is that it is a

web-based service that focuses solely on the customers needs. Thebasic secret of their success is that they practice the principle of being a consumer based web company rather than a softwarecompany.

There are several benefits of aa over the traditional enter-prise model software applications. irst the customers have the

ability to provide feedback for buggy software. There are evenapplications that automatically give the host feedback on customerusage of the application. The software company is therefore heldaccountable for bug fixes and updates.

econd the aa company is more customer-focused andcustomer-friendly. This means that any aa software is madeavailable for the customer to easily set it up without the hassles offinding technical crews to install it for them.

Another one of the benefits of aa is that the cost of invest-

ing on the software is not that high. Customers can easily set up amonthly or yearly subscription for the software and can easily endit with just a simple click of a mouse. There is no need for a largesum of money in order to avail of the service.

The most important of all the benefits of aa is probablythe frequent and easy updates of the software. Bug fixes are easily

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resolved and customers are assured that they constantly get thebest version of their software.

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20

Do I Need Collaborative SaaS Solu-

tions for My Business?

et us clarify first that collaborative T solutions are simply

T solutions that help people who work for different parts of a largeenterprise (such as different departments or in different geograph-ic locations (such as in different cities to collaborate on a certainproject.

Collaborative aa is one type of collaborative T solutionmeaning that small- and medium-sized businesses can use aaviathe nternet to keep external and internal members of a project inconstant communication with one another.

There are a few key rules that companies opting for collabor-ative aa should consider.

irst collaborative aa solutions should be as simple aspossible to allow more companies to adopt collaborative aa.

Collaborative aa should also grow better and faster if thereare more individuals and corporations opting to use collaborativeaa.

econd if your company is opting for collaborative aathen start out your endeavor with a browser-based aa solutionfirst. mall- and medium-sized businesses can even transfer their

value network into the service when required.

Third you may find that collaborative aa vendors mightamend an earlier solution provided or provide new and bettersolutions.

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ourth it is more advisable for collaborative aacompaniesto avoid the horizontal market (where the bigger collaborationplayers tend to congregate and just target their collaborative aaefforts at the vertical market instead. o if you are looking for acollaborative aa vendor to patronize it would be wise to contactresellers or channels to get the best deals.

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How CRM Matches Up to Other Sec-

tors of the SaaS Market

C is usually seen as the biggest shareholder of the ever

growing market sector of software as a service (or aa but thisdoes not mean that is the singular dominating body.

f the trend performance pushes through the way it is pro-gressing right now we might very well see Crm lagging behind thenewfangled sectors of computer software that are all dead set onadopting the software as a service model.

ne particularly fiery section of this is compliance manage-ment.

Compliance management is now considered to be the secondlargest marketing segment in software as a service that is accord-ing to most researches done in the biggest and most powerful

business capitals around the world.

To add to Crm's woes other functional areas such as pro-curement enterprise resource planning document managementand e-commerce are also being presented and delivered as on-demand services.

There seem to be many reasons as to why compliance man-agement is very well suited to such a delivery model.

To begin with the regulations are always undergoingchanges so it is necessary to upgrade one's system each time such achange happens. uch a model is considered to be a highly superioralternative to the usual solutions.

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Currently the Crm on demand sector is showing weak signsof being adopted in a mature market phase. As the signs point outsomething needs to be done - perhaps a total revolution of the Csystem or a system and implementation redesign - soon in order toremedy this.

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How to Define SaaS

oftware as a service or aa goes by many names. t is alsocalled hosted application application service provider hosted

solutions and a lot more. These terms however only mean onething aa is a method of delivering a computer program to usersusing the nternet. This could well be the simplest definition ofsoftware as a service or aa.

To elaborate further software as a service means that thecomputer application being used by the customer is hosted remote-ly using the servers and infrastructure of the service provider. Theservice could include a single application or a suite of differentapplications. ata storage is also provided by the aa company as

well as the necessary technical support and maintenance of the

program.

The customer on the other hand must subscribe to the ser-vice. A regular fee is paid monthly annually or in some cases on apay per use basis. The customer should also possess a computerconsole a web browser and a reliable nternet connection.

pon payment of the subscription fee the customer can in-stantly use the program. The service provider on the other hand isresponsible in delivering fast uptimes prompt technical supportand regular upgrades and patches to avoid bugs and software

glitches.

This software service business model is getting popularamong start up businesses and small industries. aa can providecheap computing solution and total flexibility on software use

which is very important for modern businesses and enterprises.nformation about aa abounds on the nternet and these could be

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very helpful in guiding the customer in choosing the best aaprovider.

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The EMC SaaS Business Strategy

C became interested in venturing into the aa businessbecause it knows it has many solutions in the backup and archiving

field which may be evolved into aa solutions as well. BasicallyC wants the aa solutions to serve as a complement for thelow-end storage solutions C will also be offering. C is optingfor these markets because in the past C did not serve the aaand low-end storage markets effectively enough.

f C does manage to delve into aa it will have to fullyaddress any pricing issues which have bogged down aa initiativesin the past (particularly with regards to metering plus cost transpa-rency issues. The problem hinges on the fact that aa pricingchanges depending on usage.

The plan by C to venture into the aa business seems tofollow a business trend where storage solutions vendors are tappinginto the aa field as well as part of their expansion efforts. ightnow C is the seventh-biggest player in the enterprise software

business.

C recognizes that aa is a competitive alternative to thetraditional way that software has been developed and marketed.sually software was built up to be always licensed as a model

which was beneficial to traditional software companies. ather

than deal with aa a threat C would rather consider aa as a business opportunity presented to them to accept and developfurther.

ne way C has been able to enter the aa arena is withits ctober 200 purchase of Berkeley ata ystems which makes

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online backup service ozy. This is also the path being taken byother vendors who are interested in competing in aa.

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Enterprise SaaS: Venturing into the

Big League

or many years enterprise aa or the adoption of software

as service technology to enterprise-wide operations has beensmirked at by T experts and Cs alike. But advances in thedevelopment of software and improvement of delivery infrastruc-ture have led many executives in taking a second look at aa as auseful tool for their businesses.

As a newly flourishing industry software as a service was nottaken seriously by large traditional corporations.

The most that they can give to aaare small redundant op-erations which are not vital company functions. owever thesuccess of many aa based companies created a buzz which indus-try leaders could not ignore. The increasing functionality of aaapplications has become evident as technology develops.

aa companies specifically developed software that can beused by an enterprise. This is good foresight on the part of aacompanies in order to entice large enterprises to take the aaroute.

Today there are software service answering the need forsuch vital enterprise functions like inventory control and manage-ment company financials procurement and dispatch and manymore. aa companies have elevated their level of sophistication indeploying software that can be very useful for different enterprise.

oftware as a service is a new technology innovation. ts usein big corporations has just been starting.

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But the potential of enterprise aa to deliver the necessaryprogram for established corporation is already there. t could be amatter of time only when even large organizations and big enter-prises will adopt the technology offered by aa.

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The Lowdown on Erp Benefits

or enterprise resource planning is a set of systems thatattempt to unify all data information and processes of a particular

organization into one cohesive system.

our usual system will make full use of multiple parts ofa computer software and hardware in order to make this integra-tion happen. ne vital element of most enterprise resource plan-ning systems includes the use of a unified storage database in orderto create an archive of all the data of different modules of thesystem.

The enterprise resource planning system is very importantfor any organization.

ithout it a company might find itself with a multitude ofsoftware applications that do not sync up with one another thusleading to a failure in effective interface. These different softwareapplications have many tasks to fulfill such as figuring out the best

way to manufacture a particular product (design engineeringmanaging the tracking forms of all the orders ensuring the efficientsystem of revenue cycles and managing and merging the interde-pendent bill of materials.

nterprise resource planning has several security features

that are embedded in its system.

This is necessary in order to protect the system againstcrimes like industrial espionage as well as outside/inside jobs likeembezzlement. The security feature of enterprise resource planningincludes a data tampering protection in the event that a discontentemployee intentionally tries to modify the prices of the products so

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as to contribute the demise of the company or other such types ofplans of sabotage. The enterprise resource planning systems pro-

vide great functionality in order to implement more internal con-trols so as to prevent actions like this.

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Microsoft Hosted Sharepoint, Taking

File Sharing to a New Level

Collaboration is the term that best describes the concept be-hind icrosoft harepoint ervices. harepoint is a kind of soft-

ware developed by icrosoft that can be used to host web sites thatmakes it possible for users to access shared information docu-ments records and any other forms of applications through a

browser. These harepoint sites are actually A.net applicationsthat are made up of web parts which are then added to form webpages. These are configured by site users and administrators tocreate a complete web-based application and then hosted in theportal of harepoint. The unified harepoint platform offers advan-tages for team community and individual empowerment.

)URP WKHZRUG LWVHOI VKDUHSRLQW \RX FDQ GHWHUPLQHmore or less what it is about. t means that sharing of informationdocuments and individual ideas are captured on harepoint sitesto facilitate cooperation and participation among team members.The content on these sites can be viewed on any web browsermaking it more accessible to users.

:KDWVJRRGDERXWXVLQJ6KDUHSRLQWLVWKDWVLWHPHPEHUVcan communicate with experts and contacts via instant messagingor email. ite content can be personalized while ensuring that sitemembers have the right access to relevant information. sers caneven receive alerts once new information or documents becomeavailable or changes are made to existing ones. ite content can besearched easily as well and some web parts can be presented to atargeted audience only. Aside from these rest assured that organi-

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zation wide standards are still being met especially when it comesto security and data integrity. ikis and blogs are just two of themost common specialized applications that work well with hare-point.

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Hosted Applications: Giving Birth to

Virtual Companies

The increasing number of companies that use the nternet

and the use of broadband technologies for high speed connectionsopened the way for hosted applications to make significant head-

way in the software industry.

osted applications are computer programs or softwarewhich can be used without installing it on local servers or individualCs. sers only need an nternet browser and reliable connectionin order to use and access the software.

These hosted applications are owned by application serviceproviders and they use their own servers and hardware infrastruc-tures to deliver the software to consumers. sers pay the As

whenever they utilize the software. ometimes a fixed monthly orannual fee is charged for the use of applications.

This model eliminates the need to install additional hard-ware or drive space to run the program.

Because the program uses web interface users can use itwhen they want to and wherever they are. The technology is a bighelp in reducing the cost of T requirements of companies. t caneliminate big investments for powerful T environments.

osted application also contributes to the increasing flexibil-ity of company operations.

Computing can be achieved even if employees work at differ-ent locations. mployees only need to access the companys ac-

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count in order to use the necessary program. This will cut the costof maintaining a centralized office.

osted applications are ideal for a company that wants tooperate with minimum overhead capitalization. n fact this kind oftechnology can spawn virtual companies that operate primarily incyberspace.

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Taking Care of Customers through

Hosted CRM

n order to succeed businesses should have exemplary cus-

tomer relationship management or crm. owever the prohibitivecosts of maintaining good customer relations work force oftenresults to sacrificing this aspect of the business. A superior alterna-tive that businesses can adopt is hosted crm.

osted crm can provide effective and at the same time costefficient customer relation services. osted crm applications cansignificantly increase performance of companies in terms of salesimprovement customer satisfaction and after-sales follow up.aving a good customer relationship management service by wayof hosted crm can boost a companys profitability and marketperformance.

osted crm will require minimum effort on the part of com-panies. A computer and reliable nternet connection are the onlytools needed and companies can start their crm service immediate-ly. Top of the line crm providers offer clients flexibility of use. Thismeans that client companies subscribing to a hosted service havethe option to customize their crm service according to specificneeds.

ull automation of crm services can be programmed in orderto answer the needs of potential and existing customers. This onlyshows the advantages of hosted crm especially before and aftersales transactions. osted crm can also be customized to encour-age repeat purchases.

Today not only start up and small businesses are taking ad-vantage of hosted crm. ven industry moguls and big corporations

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are shifting their customer relations desk to hosted crm services. tis a clear signal that hosted crm can bring lots of benefits to aFRPSDQ\VFXVWRPHUUHODWLRQZRUN

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The Advantages of Getting Hosted

Software

osted software is business concept where a service provider

rents out a specific computer program to companies or individuals.This can unburden end users of paying stiff licensing fees forcommercial software use.

t will also be convenient for customers to opt for hostedsoftware because it does not require costly hardware infrastructure.

A client only needs a computer desktop and an internet connectionand the software can be used almost immediately.

osted software has been in the market for several years al-ready. But it gained popularity in recent years primarily becausecompanies want to streamline their software solution deployment.osted software also benefits companies operating on a widenetwork.

Through hosted software the need for a cumbersome com-puting facility has been eliminated and companies can enjoy theflexibility of computer applications accessible over the nternet.

A service provider offering hosted software can also provideunlimited storage and data archiving services for their clients. Thiscomponent service unclogs the information overload of companies

which is a big headache for most company information officers.

osted software companies also have their own technicalsupport staff to maintain flawless running of applications and toprovide glitch free processing of business solutions and data.Companies can now lower their cost of maintaining redundantservices such as the upkeep of servers and software maintenance.

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The potential of hosted software in giving companies com-plete computing benefits has been proven to work. This is thereason why application service providers are gaining renewed vigorin the T market.

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IDC SaaS Outlook: The Future is

Bright

The nternational ata Center or C is a technology based

institution that provides strategic analysis of technology issuesmarket studies on the T sector and investment intelligence for

businesses.

C conducts in-depth research on emerging trends ontechnologies that may impact on business decisions and reposition-ing. ecently C has studied the impact of aa business modelon partner industries and shows which direction this new technolo-gy is going. t also studied the impact of aa adoption and rec-ommendations have been proposed for this specific technologysector.

The study of C showed the increasing trend on aggressiveexpansion of aa companies in order to reach their developmentgoals. The expansion of aa is propelled by the increasing growthof the market. n effect aa companies are fast tracking theirgrowth rates in order to match the market demands.

t is believed that to reach target growth rates aa compa-nies must strengthen its partnerships with subscribers. The Cshowed that this will be the key factor in sustaining the growth andexpansion of the aa business model.

otice was also given to the fact that aa providers shouldimprove strategic outlook in future software development. Toachieve optimum customer satisfaction aa vendors must em-phasize the development of technology focusing primarily on the

business processes side rather than on technology.

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The future is bright for the aa model and companies offer-ing this type of software service. rowth has been noted and itssustainability is anchored on continued software development thatis more business centered.

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Microsoft SaaS, How to Apply for the

Microsoft SaaS On-Ramp Program

f you are an independent software vendor ( and you are

planning to distribute software applications via the internetthrough oftware as a ervice (aa then you may want to consid-er applying for the icrosoft aa n-amp rogram.

Taking advantage of this program will make it easier for youas an to market your own aa application.

nce you have registered and licensed the software using theicrosoft ervices rovider icensing rogram or A you canthen enjoy the such benefits that include the following

(a pecial price offered on indows and servers for ayear;

(b lexible licensing model without any commitments orupfront software costs and

(c Access to additional icrosoft technical developmentmarketing and testing resources.

But then again some program requirements need to becompleted such as the following

(a A maximum configuration of eight indows erver Csand two erver Cs can be licensed at a special rate;

(b s must have their own intellectual property for theaa application;

(c s must obtain a signed icrosoft ervices rovider i-censing Agreement (A which enables s to gain access to anumber of icrosoft products and will then be used to provideservices and applications to customers; and

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(d s must be a icrosoft artner rogram registeredmember. To register as a member of the icrosoft artner ro-gram s must enroll in icrosoft mpower for s. owever it

would be best if s must become a Certified or old Certifiedartner with /oftware olutions Competencies to make themost out of a working relationship with icrosoft.

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The MIT SaaS Model: Education for

All Using SaaS

aa or software as a service is commonly used in business-

es. Actually the core target of aa companies and providers areenterprises which need an open source application deployable indifferent locations and environments. aa has provided thisservice and answered a particular market need. t has contributedgreatly to the success of most aa companies and providers offer-ing similar technologies.

The aa model uses the nternet to provide computer appli-cations to companies. This computer program is readily availableanytime from any part of the globe. A similar technology has beeninitiated by the prestigious assachusetts nstitute of Technologyor T. A aa type model has been launched similar to the prin-ciples of delivery and service of the aa model. owever the Taa does not follow profitability goals of aa companies. This is

because the institution primarily devotes its services for the benefitof knowledge itself.

T experts developed software called penCourseare orC. t is similar to other open source software and is also readilyavailable using only the nternet. se of the aa-type T soft-

ware is free and its target audience are educators students re-searchers and distance learning institutions. C mimics theprinciple of the aa model because it can be accessed through the

web and instantly available to users. t could be termed as hostededucational software where archived data and materials are storedremotely on T servers and it could be accessed by anyone aroundthe globe.

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The T aa shows that the technology behind aa can beused not just for business purposes but also for other non-profitand educational services.

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Software As A Service (SaaS) : An

Introduction to On Demand Applica-tions

Customer satisfaction is always the goal of companies offer-ing products and services to the public. Because of this businessowners always seek for new ideas and concepts making life a lotmore convenient than the usual. ay for example A which is a

well known brand when it comes to providing on demand applica-tions to its members. uch exclusives are provided to differentpeople with various interests and needs.

These include music videos movie trailers and concert livefeeds for entertainment fanatics and call features like call alerts

voicemail and for office personnel.

This concept is also the same with oftware as a ervice(aa wherein an on demand application is hosted on a remoteserver by a service provider and made available through the inter-net.

There are two major categories of aa and these are line ofbusiness services and customer-oriented services. The only differ-ence lies on the target market on which these are being offered to.

ine of business services is being offered to companies andenterprises such as customer relations applications and manage-ment programs while customer-oriented services are open to thegeneral public such as web-based email. Both are being offered forfree though customer-oriented services can also be used for free.

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An on demand software application delivered by aa hasthe following key characteristics. irst it is network-based and iscommercially available. econd is that every activity done are beingmanaged from centralized locations making it possible for custom-ers to access applications anytime anywhere over the internet. Andlastly there is no need for downloadable upgrades and patches

because of centralized feature updating.

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On demand (and On the Go!)

ith everyone hot in pursuit of software as a service (oraa it is very easy to see how exciting such a time might be for

EXVLQHVVSURYLGHUVDQGHQGXVHUVDOLNHPRVWHVSHFLDOO\LQWKHsector of on demand services.

This on demand service can be seen as a solution or a specialfeature that is able to address the need of the user for instantresults and efficient control of solutions. n a lot of cases the valueproposition of such a service is all rolled up in the fact that the enduser or service client is seen to avoid a particularly significantfinancial investment. nstead he or she participates in a schemeWKDWLQFOXGHVWKHSRSXODUSD\DV\RXJRPHWKRG7KLVVFKHPHhas done much to increase the popularity and utility of on demand

service because of its value of affordability.

n demand services have a lot to offer for the eager consum-ers. t has video on demand which is a special type of service thatallows all the viewers to have access their media once they havesubscribed to it including television offerings and streaminginternet. t also offers on demand computing often called utilitycomputing and presents a service where the software itself canprocess the transaction upon subscription. n such a model theVRIWZDUHLVQRWUHDOO\LQVWDOOHGDWWKHGHYLFHRIWKHXVHUWKHZD\WR

work it is to access it via nternet or at a centralized access point.

uch a software is usually delivered by an A and is usually re-ferred to as software as a service.

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On Demand SaaS: A Brief Back-

grounder

n demand aa is no different from software service

hosted application and software on demand. These are all businessmodels offering software as a service. This kind of service usesmodern nternet technology to deploy a wide array of computerapplication to customers. There is a global market for this service

because the application using web protocols can be accessedanywhere as long as the customer has nternet connection.

The history of aa is a bumpy one. t experienced set backbecause the software market did not received it well. n the lastdecade aa technology was on its infancy and customers expectedmore from the service. arket expectations could not be met bythe service providers and it resulted to failures and closures of earlyaa companies.

ith the advent of new technologies and increasing sophisti-cation of software development aa providers experienced arebound and this time the market has responded positively. Thesynergy between software vendors and T infrastructure providershas led to the development of more reliable T environments andcutting-edge software. xpectations were met and growth of thisparticular sector has been increasing ever since it returned to themarket.

Today businesses are taking advantage of the benefits ofaa. t significantly lowered the operational expenses of compa-nies and provided perfect software solution for their computingrequirements. ore companies now have been migrating to aaenablement from the traditional in-premise software deployment.

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The trend is going towards further growth and it is expected thatservice providers will refine their solutions as the sector develops.

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On Demand Software: Surging

Ahead to Meet Global Needs

The changing nature of how corporations operate has led to

changes in software needs and utilization. The increasing dispersaland outsourcing of vital corporate functions and the popularity of

virtual offices made in-house software and server environmentsobsolete. That is why there is a renewed market surge for ondemand software.

n demand software is a service offered by application ser-vice providers. t is a business model in which a specific computerprogram can be made available to customers on a per use basis.imply said customers can lease a software which they can accessanywhere because the mode of delivery only uses standard nternetprotocols.

n the part of customers on demand software is a big mon-ey saver. Businesses can do away with expensive on-site serversand costly software installations and maintenance. They also getoperational flexibility because diverse departments located sepa-rately can still function as a unified unit because of the ability toaccess data from the service SURYLGHUVVHUYHU9LUWXDORIILFHVFDQ

be set up and workers can telecommute and work from their home.This can significantly slash company overhead and minimizeproblems concerning T maintenance and support.

n demand software is really becoming the hottest buzz inthe corporate world. The advantages of using the system far out-

weigh its disadvantages. That is why software as a service modelhas been gaining lots of adherents. n fact even multinational and

big corporations are shifting their focus on software as a service. t

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is viewed as the ultimate software solution to efficiently intercon-nect large organizations at very minimal cost.

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Open source SaaS, Timely Realiza-

tions About Open Source SaaS

Almost every single tech enthusiast and online business guru

is singing songs of praises for open source aa is finally here.Come to think of it it actually has been here for quite some timenow.

t is just that it is only now that people are realizing itsmeaning and significance in the world of online communicationand busiQHVVHYHQWKRXJKZHKDYHEHHQXVLQJZHE-based opensource applications for years!

ne main consideration of open source aa is its ability tohelp you wield better control over your many work and web-basedapplications. Can you assess how much of the stuff you have on

your computer the stuff that makes you do the things you do is allpart of the spirit of what people call the open source aa move-ment? ou may be surprised to know that the answer is more oftenthan not a resounding yes.

pen source aa is different from a lot of aaservice pro-viders. A lot of the 'others' out there have really good online distri- butions of their applications allowing you to have greatfunctionality in a web-based environment.

But do these other aa applications permit you to accessthe pages that control your graphic user interface? o they allow

you to access the database so that you may edit its contents?Through these other applications are you able to control the fileand the structure of the directory of your web applications? Thehanging question is are you totally in control? After mulling overthese questions and realizing that only open source aa can pro-

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vide you with significant browser functions in order to customizeyour productivity levels it is most likely that you will see where youcan make up for your years of lost gains by investing in opensource aa!

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Opsource: Giving SaaS a Needed

Shot in the Arm

The opsource aa enablement and delivery method bridges

the gap between independent software vendors and end usersoftware consumers. psource provided the necessary infrastruc-ture that enabled software developers to effectively market theirproduct solutions to a wider customer base at reduced cost.

The business model allowed software vendors to focus theirefforts in developing top of the line software solutions withoutinvesting on expensive software delivery architecture.

psource provided the service to be the main vehicle in deli-vering software products to customers. This resulted to cheapersoftware which is readily available for interested subscribers. Thisis one of the main reasons why software as a service continues toenjoy competitive market edge in terms of pricing and quality.

oftware as a service is not a new business model. n fact ithas existed long before the nternet became the number one sourceof information and services. arly aa models encountereddifficulties in the market.

Because of increasing cost in setting up and maintaining areliable software delivery system application service providerssacrificed the quality of software development in order to meet thedemands of running their own delivery infrastructure. Theseresulted to cold market reception which led to the early A down-fall.

The opsource model reversed everything. aa now is enjoy-ing renewed market vigor and ultimate dominance in the software

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industry. This is due to the fact that software vendors can nowconcentrate on creating cutting edge software technologies whichare very useful to end consumers. evelopers have been unbur-dened of expensive hardware maintenance. t kept the prices ofexceptional software low and the market received it positively.

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Opsource SaaS : Affordable meets

Functional in one Value-Packed soft-ware

t is a very exciting time in the world of software as a serviceor aa for the time has come for psource aa to shine! Toutedas the delivery experts

pource is determined to provide its customers with thenecessary operational infrastructure and service-based applicationsthat are simply the best out there.

any web-based companies appreciate the fact that p-ource aa can offer them on-demand web application clearly

pource aa can give you almost everything you will probablyneed so you can boost up your sales by performing using greatapplications in half the time!

But why choose pource? et the C...C.A. acronymguide you in making the right choice of choosing it as your plat-form.

C- complete because everything you will need is addressedin such a software- including hardware storage infrastructuredisaster recovery as well as security.

- it is one hundred percent reliable because pource

aa has a hundred percent uptime A necessary for applicationand infrastructure as well as a twenty-four hour support system.

- it has the potential for extendibility through its ever-growing list of serviceable applications.

C- talk about Compliant- penource aa is packed withA0 C AA Type Appxchange and arbanes-xley. And finally

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A- Affordable- anyone can get their hands on it with a veryattractive pay as you grow type of pricing! ith all these and somuch more (just waiting for you to try out and be pleasantly sur-prised at the value-added features you surely can never go wrong

with pensource aa.

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SaaS Business Benefits for ISVs and

Customers

,QIRUPDWLRQ7HFKQRORJ\VDLPLVWRPDNHOLIHVLPSOHUDQG

easier. t is clearly evident nowadays that this goal of T has evenexceeded the demands of the public wherein it seems almost every-thing can be done in just a push of a button. A lot of differentprocesses and procedures were also introduced in the world of

business promising countless benefits not only to the serviceproviders and product developers but also to the end-users as well.ne of these breakthroughs is the oftware as a ervice (aamodel providing benefits to both independent software vendors(s and end customers.

aa specific benefits to s include the following(a improved customer support and service levels;(b shared responsibility for support infrastructure;(c more predictable and expected ongoing costs;(d lowered risk factors; and(e quicker and easier to market.

n addition partnering with clients gives way for s toconcentrate more on developing software applications rather thandelivering and operating it thus enhancing software value. aaalso fosters closer ties between s and users. romoting interac-tion and dialogue will enable s to get feedback on web-basedsoftware applications directly from its users.

or clients and customers aa benefits include(a more stable security system- for monitoring network and

application attacks or breaches;(b faster implementation- easier deployment than tradi-

tional software;

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(c more cost-effective- no need to but additional software orhardware 50% less than traditional systems;

(d focus more on strategic initiatives- the need for properdelegation is a must; and

(e lower risk alternative- return on investment is improvedand implementation risks are greatly reduced.

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Tips for SaaS Companies to Increase

ROI

oftware as a ervice (aa was considered the next best

thing when it comes to software automation in the previous years.A lot has been said on how it can benefit users and service provid-ers which is the reason why a lot of aa companies emerged in thepast years.

These companies are set to attract small and medium-sizedbusiness owners each of which promises to provide better softwaresolutions at a very low price.

ince competition is stiff and with large companies includingicrosoft and racle already developing aa software it is indeeda challenge to make your product stand out above the rest. naddition expect smaller revenue at first due to lower subscriptionfees. But then again if your products and services fit the standardsof many companies there will be a brighter future ahead for youraa business.

This is the reason why it is a must to design and deliverproducts differently.

t is a good thing to note though that since aa companiesmake use of web based applications such as the browser there will

be lesser investments in professional services. perating costsshould also drop since a aa company can support multiple cus-tomers on a single application.

Come to think of it return on investments can even surpassthose of traditional service providers if everything is done in goodtaste. ho knows that even large companies may also support your

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products so expect a huge difference as far as revenues is con-cerned. t is always a companys mission to provide innovativeproducts and services to its customers thus making room forexpansion in the years to come.

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SaaS Conference- The Details of

SaaScon Revealed

t is common to many business enterprises to face challenges

and opportunities. t is due to this fact that many innovations onhow businesses should be handled properly were introduced. omehave been successful while some opted to find some more alterna-tives to produce excellent products and deliver high quality servicesfor the public to enjoy.

To cater for the need to share best practices and learn fromsuccess stories of others are just few of the many reasons whyconferences are being held. aa conferences for example are

being done in different venues and sponsored by various institu-tions to find better ways to deliver customer service.

aacon is one of these conferences which will be held onarch 25 and 2 2008 at the anta Clara Convention Centeranta Clara CA. The conference is open for those who are interest-ed to venture on aa business or for those who are planning tohire an and select the best one that suits their business opera-tions.

n this conference all issues concerning aa will be ad-dressed and topics include easuring uccess Balancing isks andewards and Taking on Best ractices and Avoiding itfalls amongothers.

egistration is done online through phone or at the venueitself. nce registration is confirmed admittance badges will begiven to attendees at the registration area.

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The stage is welcome to all those who would like to speak;however this is subject for approval by the aacon anagementTeam. There are also pre-determined speakers usually comingIURPHYHQWVVSRQVRUVZKHUHLQWKH\ZLOOEHJLYHQDFKDQFHWRWDONfor 30 minutes and present their case studies.

or those who are interested to attend check the web formore updates and details about the aacon.

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SaaS CRM and its Benefits Over Tra-

ditional CRM Applications

Customer elationship anagement (C is a very critical

aspect of the business especially nowadays that more and morecompanies are reaching out to their customers to determine theproducts and services that they think would most benefit them.

This is acquired through constant feedback and C eva-luates these to come up with the best possible solution. There is noother more convenient way to interact with customers other thanusing the web. This is where oftware as a ervice (aa comes in.

The concept behind aa C technology is not that com-plicated compared to larger systems. This is the reason why it hasgrown increasingly popular nowadays.

ore and more companies regardless of size are switchingto aa C to provide business solutions in a more practical andcost-effective manner. aa C make use of web deployment

which brings about ease of use while eliminating high T require-ments and maintenance costs.

Compared to traditional C applications there are a lot ofbenefits that the company would get after switching to aa C.Aside from having lesser worries when it comes to budget aaC is also faster to implement company-wide. This is becausethere is no need to buy additional hardware devices or softwareapplications since it is already made available online.

n addition data security is much of a concern in most com-panies. aa C eliminates this by offering more robust andstable data security measures. These include operating system and

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database security user authentication and data encryption amongothers. est assured that confidential information remains securethrough these security procedures providing protection to hazardsfrom the external world.

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SaaS Enablement: Delivering Soft-

ware with Utmost Service

The development of the aa or the oftware as a ervice as

one software application has provided clients with ease and comfortin using a software than paying only for using it and not for owningit.

The driving force behind this application approach is theas enablement. hen contemplating on which aa technologyis most useful for a particular application or what underlyingplatform is better the options are many. owever the most usefulaa enablement is the A platform (Appxchange since this is atechnology much thinner the very common etweaver.

pon deciding the aa enablement technology to use keeptwo things in mind lexibility and Control and 7UDQVSDUHQF\

ith flexibility and control it means determining the crea-tive muscle that users can use with the type of technology opted.

ith transparency the experience of the amount of the vendorlock-in is mostly the concern. hen the technology becomes moretransparent the lesser its lock-in gets.

A vendor lock-in is relatively similar with becoming a con-sumer on one monopolized market a particular technology drawsan unfortunate constraint being part of some corral of sorts whichprevents consumers from scrutinizing and finding other moreaffordable solutions once the quality of the first turns unsatisfacto-ry.

Typically aa is directly associated with more affordablebusiness software that provides consumers with similar benefits

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from those commercially-licensed software. This is practically thereason why it is important that consumers properly choose theright one that goes well with their preference.

The aa enablement should be one factor consumersshould focus on. That way finding that particular software thatdelivers the best services will not be that mind-boggling to do.

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SaaS and ERP- Merging Two Con-

cepts for Business Growth

t always results to a win-win situation if you merge two con-

cepts together that both share the same objectives and goals. Thiswill not only mean good business but satisfied customers as well.nterprise esource lanning ( usually applies only to largecorporations. The concept behind is that everything will besynchronized by integrating company data files and records intoone single system. This unified database can be accessed by alllevels of the organization including uman esources ayrollecurity etc. to promote consistency and accuracy on every processdone. ften requires high maintenance cost which is thereason why small business owners tend to ignore it. oweverrecent technology has brought together and oftware as aervice (aa making it more convenient for small business tomigrate to a fully integrated system.

aa functions as a bridge that makes it possible for end us-ers or customers to access a software application anytime anywherethrough the internet. All you need to have is a computer an inter-net connection and a web browser and you are all set. This is thereason why an solution built on aa is more appropriate forsmall business due to the fact that it is more cost-effective and it iseasier to grasp rather than implementing a much complex system.aa solutions are provided by a third party vendor so makesure that you have chosen the best partner that suits your business.ot all vendors offer the same terms and conditions which is why itis important to take into consideration all key factors that lead tosuccess of your business venture.

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The Many Benefits of SaaS Finance

ost small business establishments have long been usingthe aa finance application and technologies. The benefits of this

particular enablement technology approach have clearly shownsome positive outcomes most of which delivering effective softwarefunctionalities to various businesses. o what are the benefits ofaa finance? ead on.

or the consumers. The aa finance or the aa applica-tion for that matter has no client/server software that needs to beinstalled nor maintained. t also has a shorter deployment time

just about a few minutes.

And because it is globally available the aa finance can eas-

ily be accessed from almost everywhere that has an nternet con-nection. Additionally the aa also has the service level agreementadherence that effectively report bugs that can easily be fixed even

without the rollout overhead. t also has constant and much lesserupgrades by constantly improving the functionality of the applica-tion.

or the provider. The aa finance can aggregate the operat-ing environment on the part of the provider. The provider generallyowns the domain. Therefore there is no need to send out techni-cians to fix software problems.

Also the provider has complete control in optimizing the in-frastructure of the aa applications requirements. urthermoreas providers of aa finance application there is what they call thepredictable revenue stream. This means that clients pay the provid-ers on recurring schedules. The providers can also adjust the cycleto better handle the forecasting revenues.

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There are really a lot of practical benefits when it comes tothe aa finance. This explains why this application is mostlypreferred my small establishments that still need to have the rightenablement technology.

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SaaS Growth: How to be Successful

in the Industry

The aa industry is undeniably growing as more and more

developers have realized the success of this business. But in spite ofits market potentials there are still some aa vendors that are stillstruggling to balance the industry growth with is profitability.

aa growth can actually be achieved provided that the webaa Company is bent on fueling on the top line while providing

bottom line results. ere are some ways on how to have aagrowth in the world of the aa industry.

Balance rowth with rofitability. As with any type of busi-ness the next big thing normally begins with impressive products.owever it is not enough to have a profitable business. nstead

becoming successful especially in the aa industry also requires askilled discipline. By doing so a more dynamic revenue growth can

be achieved while operating at a better profit.

rovide a scalable and cost-effective aa latform. A aagrowth also needs an impressive but cost effective aa platformthat provides and accommodates multi-tenant environments.

Also the performance of the aa company along with theoperating reliability and also the growth all rely on the demandaa platform.

or a successful aa growth a aa vendor should also ex-pand the product capabilities so as to meet the demands of themarket for a more comprehensive management solution.

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The more features the aa application has the more likelyit is to hit the market. And because this web hosting solution has

been provided by a number of web developers already; it has rela-tively become one web application mostly opted by many.

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The Many Benefits of SaaS Hosting

ost small and mid-size business these days are more andmore turning on the aa hosting. hile there are still some that

prefer to have those traditional web hosting applications the aahosting is somehow as efficient and as functional as the ones mostlyused by bigger business. o what is a aa hosting?

Basically the aa hosting is one software application that isavailable on the nternet. These web hosting sites are particularlydesigned to provide shared services to a number of users. suallythe aa hosting is that computer software that is developed andmanaged by a particular service provider.

Any computer that runs on ac or inux or indows can

avail of the aa hosting. The computer is primarily connected toan nternet thru a common web browser. This means that users areaccessing the aa application software thru specific servers in-VWHDGRIMXVWVWRULQJWKHPRQWKHFRPSXWHUVPHPRU\$ 6DD6hosting also allows the users to buy more expensive and highlypowerful technologies.

ther practical uses of aa hosting. Aside from providingsmall to medium size business firms with web applications far fromthe traditional web hosting services there are also some other usesand benefits that one can obtain from the aa hosting. ith this

particular software clients can access their database anytimeanywhere provided that there is a reliable nternet connection.

Also the users normally pay only for the model for some smallmonthly charges minus those unexpected front costs. The aahosting is also fast thus running reports in just a matter of seconds.

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The birth of the aa hosting has truly helped a lot in the Tindustry. As more and more clients are satisfied with the perfor-mance of this application developers are even more challenged toprovide users with the best possible services.

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Some Facts about the SaaS Industry

hile most people thought the aa is nothing comparedwith the traditional software there are actually some things that

this software is most noted for. Although some of the aa are notthat fully-featured just yet they are flexible enough in meeting the business demands especially on small to middle-size businessscales. ere are some things why the aa industry is one systempeople should consider.

aa has long been in the T industry. Although soundingnew the aa industry is already used in a lot of applications. omepopular consumer applications that use the aa include ypaceeBay ouTube and iTunes along with search engines like ahooand oogle.

aa keeps getting better and better. uring WKHHDUO\Vthe concept is more popularly known as the Application erviceroviders or the As or even called the managed services. verthe years experts have redesigned the concept with better andmore improved services thus the birth of the aa. rom broad-

band connectivity to grid computing web services and virtualiza-tion the aa industry keeps on improving and its practices arecontinuously maturing.

aa is as secured and as reliable as the traditional software.

n fact aa is more secured because users need not carry withthem their applications elsewhere. Additionally aa projects aremore compliant because the vendors are the ones responsible forthe tracking of projects and are accountable to a number of custom-ers.

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aa is suitable for smaller companies. ince aa is rela-tively more affordable than the traditional software it is moreefficient for small to medium-scale businesses.

The aa industry has presently continued to hit businessand private users alike. ith its affordability and high performanceit is no wonder to hear people opting for the aa instead of thetraditional software.

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Achieving the Proper SaaS Infra-

structure

There are some distinctive difference between an on-demand

aa application and the traditional software. xperts say that inorder to be a successful aa company there are three must-havesto consider as far as the aa infrastructure is concerned.

The aa should be available thru the web. n an aa infra-structure web developers should consider that most of the nextgeneration of clients are not agreeable with something that theycannot easily buy online. t is actually surprising to note that only13% of aa vendors allow online sign up for their applications. Aaa infrastructure should be available on the web because this isthe most effective way to gather and filter possible customers. Alsothis can encourage the vendors to assure customers that the appli-cations are web-ready. Additionally this can also make the softwareunderstandable and accessible.

aa infrastructure should be more of solutions than com-ponents. ormally most of the conventional software simplyprovides nothing but a set of tools that users still have to grasp witheven before they can finally produce any utility. The aa infra-structure has to be more focused not on the toolsets but on theproblems instead in order to have the most comprehensive and best

business results.

aa infrastructure uccess-based pricing. The proper aainfrastructure expects the clients to pay only the application suc-cessfully used. This is contrary with what most traditional hostingmodels go about charging for the bandwidth and the disk andprocessor consumption.

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enerally the aa infrastructure is far more efficient anduseful because of its practicability. This is one reason why small tomedium-scale businesses are suited for this type of web hostingapplication.

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SaaS Integration- A Critical Aspect of

the SaaS Process

A lot of stories have been written about the different benefits

that oftware as a ervice (aa provides to both service providersand users. es it is true that it is cost effective due to the fact thatthere is no need to purchase additional software applications andhardware devices just to maintain or support the system. All youneed to have is a computer with a browser installed on it plus anactive internet connection. t is indeed more practical than anyother software solutions around because it is web-based whichmeans that you can access it at your own convenience. t is alsoeasier to implement and integrate on your current system. owev-er not all processes are perfectly executed thus changing thesystem to aa may look more of a disadvantage.

A good example may happen in small business units. t is in-deed recommended that small businesses should switch to aa

EHFDXVHLWZLOOQRWUHDOO\WDNHPXFKRIWKHFRPSDQ\VHDUQLQJVWRestablish such a system. owever the issue may happen whenthere is more than one application running via aa. To make all ofthese areas of business perform as a single unit there is a need tointegrate them. But then the integration process is not that easy.There is a need to do constant error checking and maintenancethus defeating the purpose of actually resorting to aa as it willrequire a considerable amount of money to get this done. To resolvesuch issues it would be best to use a software application that isintended for aa integration. iring a professional may also costs

big bucks so selecting a software that will work best in integratingthe system is therefore necessary.

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The Effects of Market Intelligence to

SaaS Business

ave you heard about market intelligence? This is a new

term to some but to those people who are into the oftware as aervice (aa business they know well what market intelligence is.arket intelligence is the gathering of relevant information to aFRPSDQ\VPDUNHW7KHVHGDWDDUHWKHQDQDO\]HGWRPDNHFRQIi-dent and accurate decisions to determine market penetrationstrategies new development metrics and market opportunities.arket intelligence with the integration of aa will result to thesekey benefits.

irst people are getting self-sufficient. This means that eve-rything that you need is already on top of your desk without reallyKDYLQJ WR FRQWDFW WKH FRPSDQ\V ,7 GHSDUtment for support.Business users can then rely on these data in coming up with the

best possible course of action to meet the needs of the business.

The second key benefit would be its cost specifically on theuse of human resources. ince market intelligence will automatethe business and remove unnecessary work load people will nowget to work more on the real thing and focus on what needs to bedone. nstead of doing redundant work people are getting moreproGXFWLYHWKXVVDYLQJWKHFRPSDQ\VYDOXDEOHPRQH\

Third automating the processes done through market intel-ligence will make the job a lot easier especially for marketers. incethe information at hand is already converted into something thatthey used to seeing the time to generate reports will be lesser thanexpected. As a result better marketing decisions are produced withhigher competitive analyses in terms of quality. Truly this will be a

win-win situation for the company and its customers as well.

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The Right Approach in SaaS Market-ing

n aa marketing most successful companies that deal in

this industry often think of themselves not as a software companythat sells software on demand. ather they consider themselves asa eb company that has business users that access their servicesover the nternet.

n order to effectively start a successful aa business un-derstanding the right approaches to aa marketing is imperative.ere are some tips.

aa vendors should think about their identities. aa ven-dors should understand that it is important to reconsider their base

offerings. oftware vendors must provide aa applications thatgenerally emulate the varied consumer eb sites in such a way thatthey are designed and distributed to obtain success rather thanthose that follow the more traditional enterprise software.

aa companies should be updated.. Traditional softwarecompanies normally look at the long term benefits of their prod-ucts. But with aa this web application can easily add newerfeatures either monthly or quarterly. t can also develop a largernumber of platforms thus making it more iterative. Additionally

eb application developers of aa are generally free to explore

and focus application capabilities as well as the user experience.

aa marketing takes a lot of effort in order to succeed. ostaa vendors often feel the need for newer developments to reachout to clients although not so many people appreciate thesechanges. aa marketing is basically all about providing the best

web applications at a more meager price range. ith so many aa

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vendors at present there is only one thing aa developers shouldfocus on to attract users and not to sell to customers. After the user

base has been developed the focus then extends to elaborating theproduct this time providing additional features that are oftenuseful to clients.

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SaaS News: Keeping Updated with

the Latest in Trends

7KH6DD6LVRQHRIWRGD\VPRVWVXFFHVVIXOWrends in the

world of software development. The aa solutions have solved alot of problems that most traditional software is facing whichincludes highly expensive upfront license fees access issues andlong time implementations. ver the next couple of years the aais expected to become more pervasive in all areas of the softwaremarket.

n keeping with the latest trends the aa news is helpful sothat investors and web developers can fully understand how theaa industry goes and properly assess the impact in the world ofsoftware development.

Based from the latest aa news the market size of this in-dustry is expected to reach up to a hundred billion dollars althoughthis will be a gradual evolution. The desktop applications as well asthe enterprise application markets are seen to stand at abouttwenty-four billions and sixty-five billion dollars respectively. Thesystem infrastructure for aa also includes network security anddesktop applications virtualization and back up.

Additionally the aa news also stated that there is a hun-dred percent of desktop applications that have successfully deli-

vered on demand aa solutions over time thus seen to obtainabout thirty-eight billion dollars opportunity by 2010. As for theenterprise applications about ten percent of all the data can not beaccessed on demand as per governmental mandates. This means tosay that government and international data deemed as confidentialcan not be stored off-premise nor be co-mingled.

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The aa news is indeed one of the most effective methodsto gather information about the latest trends in the world of theaa industry. earn and read more about them now.

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Understanding the Benefits of the

SaaS Platform

The aa platform is one or a collection of computer pro-

grams that collectively acts as the host of the computer applicationsthat is residing on it. Aside from that the aa platform is alsoresponsible for tenancy partitioning scaling monitoring andmetering and distributing services.

Tenancy artitioning- n general applications that are writ-ten in one tenant fashion have little or even no function in serving anumber of customers. ne example is a specific application data-

base. f the database is designed to cater only to a single customerthen this prevents other customers from storing their data in thatsame particular database. Additionally the execution of an applica-tion cannot possibly be partitioned nor shared by customers.

caling- An aa application intentionally aggregate the de-mands for all users and customers into a single virtual or physicallocation. n any aa application therefore being able to supportthe said aggregation is an important requirement. o as to achievescaling the aa application should be designed in a mannerconducive to scaling while still being able to support the requiredauxiliary pieces.

onitoring and etering- aa applications are also re-quired to meter and then monitor the usage from the data as well asthe execution standpoints. enerally this is closely related with themonetization and the scaling models. Also most of these applica-tions are extracted into platform layers wherein the platforms then

become responsible for the metering of the user and the tenantusage while monitoring the system events as well.

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istributing ervices- aa platforms are responsible in dis-tributing services into the system to achieve the tasks of performing

business logics.

Companies that distribute aa platforms these days haveeffectively introduced varied services to the market but generallythey have followed the basic principals mentioned above.

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How to Go About in SaaS Pricing

hen it comes to providing the right aa pricing for buy-ers a software publisher is often faced with the dilemma of doing

the right pricing without compromising the existing license sales.

very software developer and publisher should be able tobalance their current product rates and their aa pricing other-wise they might risk a great loss on their market shares. o whatshould vendors do in order to provide the most amenable aapricing?

roduct Bundling. hether the product relates to televisionprogramming software designing or software distributing product

bundling is often the most proven and effecti