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When I first started with Google Adwords a few months ago I thought I'd be
clever and bid on 'software as a service', in the hope that people
interested in using NetSuite to run their business would click
through. I got a ton of traffic and a lot of people who signed up for my
newsletter, etc.. But as it turns what they were really interested in was
offering their software as a service. I had requests for a whitepaper
that I wrote about the difference between Software as a Service and an ASP from
companies like Novell. Needless to say I stopped that particular ad campaign.
(The whitepaper is still available, just send me an email by writing a comment
and I will happily send it along.)
It was amazing to me the number of different companies that are starting to
understand the value proposition of SaaS. It's hard enough trying to sell
software these days, but when you have to include a database, a server, an
operating system and other infrastructure in the value equation it makes it damn
near impossible to get approval. Senior people have to have a
huge pain before they sign up for another system. They have
seen the IT department swell like crazy over the last 10 years. Are we really
that much better off with new systems when we have to hire several new people to
maintain it?
Just here in Michigan, not normally thought of as a hotbed of information
technology, there are several companies doing some really interesting projects
with SaaS. LeanLogistics, a company on the west side of the state, has a
Transportation Management System that they offer as a service. I attended one of
their webinars a while ago and was really impressed with the strong testimonial
from one of their clients. You can read
more about their offering here, but suffice to say that they have a very
impressive client list.
Another company that I have come across, and whose Supply Chain
Management service is very intriguing, is Osiris Innovations Group. Using
the Internet for sourcing and procurement makes all the sense in the world.
Again, the key to SaaS is the value of collaboration to the applications offered
as a service. You can read
more about Osiris here.
There are many others, too many to name them all. I have no doubt that, as I
said earlier, SaaS
has crossed the chasm, and is currently ramping up for an assault on the
mainstream software market, in those area where people are demanding greater
collaboration. | 
