104491 Resource 102363 102466 102466 1128798432033 1128798471443 Controlled SaaS crosses the chasm

Software as a Service has crossed the disruptive technology chasm over the last 3 years, but one group remains in denial

For many folks in the technology arena, "Crossing the Chasm" is an important book about how disruptive technologies have to first cross a chasm, aided by early adopters, before establishing a beachhead in the mainstream technology market. Software as a Service (SaaS) appears to have made the crossing. There are a number of offerings in the CRM space , like NetSuite's NetCRM that I implement, that have helped to establish the SaaS beachhead.There is one group that has been left in a quandary by the SaaS crossing: The IT Department. They don't have more budget this year, or next, to bring in a new in-house system. They know, better than anyone, that additional in-house systems require further resources, whether that's machines, personnel or other infrastructure. On the other hand, they find SaaS threatening. An application, or a suite of applications, that you can run without an IT staff, without machines, and without other infrastructure. This isn't what the IT staff wants. Their value to the organization assumes the organization's dependency. This is one of the great secrets of the software world. There's a lot of half-ass software on the market. It's poorly designed and poorly coded and hopelessly complicated. Perfect. Before long there are dozens of other businesses - consulting, training, third party documentation - to support it. Because software like this needs all the support it can find. The buying public, both businesses and consumers, looks at all this support and feels genuine comfort.  They are not going to be left out on their own with this software. Perhaps this is starting to change. Take a look at the inroads Apple has made in the laptop market. We all know how to use a word processor now. The next step is a good word processing program. Not incredibly complicated, but well designed and well coded. Apple software fits the bill.Similarly, in many corporations the business functions have become dependent on the IT Department to support complex software systems on complex infrastructure. What happens if this culture of dependency snaps a thread? You enter a period of unravelling. I have no easy answers for all the people who work in corporate IT departments. And it's not just the small and medium sized companies where SaaS makes its disruptive impact. Companies like Oracle, I believe, will begin transforming their software to the SaaS model in the future.  But the fact that IT departments find SaaS threatening indicates that the value proposition of Software as a Service - all of the functionality and value of an in house system without the overhead maintenance and infrastructure costs - hits home. 10 application/xml false crm netsuite netsuite implementation saas software as a service Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.0; T312461; YPC 3.0.1; (R1 1.5); .NET CLR 1.1.4322) 68.79.94.201 68.79.94.201 tfoydel false true false false true 102363 blog blogsite/SightLines/web