http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/01/what-is-saas-the-answer-is-rooted-in-the-end-user/ Understanding the Software as a Service Revolution Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:14:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/01/what-is-saas-the-answer-is-rooted-in-the-end-user/#comment-31802 Daily Concerns : Evaluating the various Church Software SaaS Offerings Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:46:53 +0000 http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/01/what-is-saas-the-answer-is-rooted-in-the-end-user/#comment-31802 [...] Regardless, I believe the key consideration is this -- are all SaaS delivery methods considered equal to both the provider (scalable, efficient, profitable) and the end user (ease of use, accessibility, cost)?  A great article on this topic can be found at SaaSBlogs.com: What is SaaS? The Answer is Rooted in the End User. In the article, the author contends that the best way to define SaaS is from the end user's perspective -- are their needs satisfied by the vendor's chosen delivery model? However, the end user must also consider the viability of the vendor's model. The author goes on to state that "the most successful providers will leverage multi-tenant, single instance because it provides maximal efficiency and value derivation." [...] […] Regardless, I believe the key consideration is this — are all SaaS delivery methods considered equal to both the provider (scalable, efficient, profitable) and the end user (ease of use, accessibility, cost)?  A great article on this topic can be found at SaaSBlogs.com: What is SaaS? The Answer is Rooted in the End User. In the article, the author contends that the best way to define SaaS is from the end user’s perspective — are their needs satisfied by the vendor’s chosen delivery model? However, the end user must also consider the viability of the vendor’s model. The author goes on to state that “the most successful providers will leverage multi-tenant, single instance because it provides maximal efficiency and value derivation.” […]

]]> http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/01/what-is-saas-the-answer-is-rooted-in-the-end-user/#comment-829 SaaS Blogs - » Is a Drop in Satisfaction Among SaaS Users a Concern? Fri, 26 Jan 2007 16:47:44 +0000 http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/01/what-is-saas-the-answer-is-rooted-in-the-end-user/#comment-829 [...] I bumped into an article at Computer World titled Survey: SAAS satisfaction dropping as customer interest expands. The article highlights a report by the Cutter Consortium and Jeffrey Kaplan of THINKstrategies. In summary, the report discusses an interesting trend in a drop in customer satisfaction among SaaS users despite the fact that interest in the delivery model continues to grow as does the user base. Kaplan “hit the nail on the head” so to speak when it comes to the why; user expectation in a growing market doesn’t synch up with what is provided, hence the drop in satisfaction. As Kaplan noted, this is a side effect of a growing market but did offer a cautious warning to both users and vendors when it comes to expectation. This notion of expectation vs. deliverable is something I wrote about earlier (in a sense). If you look at the diagram, you’ll notice a center piece that defines value. That can be drastically skewed and misinterpreted based on expectation and perception, that’s the SaaS ‘minefield’. I think there is more to this reduced satisfaction, however, than just gaps in deliverables and expectations. Part of it is because of the changing end user demographic. This is best explained using the classic technology adoption life cycle curve (borrowed from Visio, of course): [...] […] I bumped into an article at Computer World titled Survey: SAAS satisfaction dropping as customer interest expands. The article highlights a report by the Cutter Consortium and Jeffrey Kaplan of THINKstrategies. In summary, the report discusses an interesting trend in a drop in customer satisfaction among SaaS users despite the fact that interest in the delivery model continues to grow as does the user base. Kaplan “hit the nail on the head” so to speak when it comes to the why; user expectation in a growing market doesn’t synch up with what is provided, hence the drop in satisfaction. As Kaplan noted, this is a side effect of a growing market but did offer a cautious warning to both users and vendors when it comes to expectation. This notion of expectation vs. deliverable is something I wrote about earlier (in a sense). If you look at the diagram, you’ll notice a center piece that defines value. That can be drastically skewed and misinterpreted based on expectation and perception, that’s the SaaS ‘minefield’. I think there is more to this reduced satisfaction, however, than just gaps in deliverables and expectations. Part of it is because of the changing end user demographic. This is best explained using the classic technology adoption life cycle curve (borrowed from Visio, of course): […]

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