SaaS Blogs

[…] An article from SearchSMB.com discusses telco plans to promote and and deliver software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions to SMEs (or SMBs in their parlance). Sinclair Schuller over at SaasBlogs (who put me onto this article) thinks telcos can be successful in this space, given they already sell so many other services to SMEs, and few other channels are as ready or as accessible. […]

Sinclair this is a good point.

Like you said, Telcos already have their foot inside the door so offering solutions that solve other related SMB pain points would be an attractive proposition for any company and SaaS is the perfect delivery model for them.

It will be interesting to see how and when it plays out but I don’t think it will take to long as Telcos like British Telecom are already thinking of this.

A lot more thinking needs to be done about how SaaS vendors can leverage partners. Today, SaaS is moderately toxic to partners, as I’ve said recently in my blog:

http://smoothspan.wordpress.com/2007/05/21/is-saas-toxic-for-partners/

It isn’t that SaaS vendors want to be harmful to partners, but a lot of what makes SaaS good tramples on traditional ways partners have added value.

SaaS vendors need to combat this effect in two ways. First, they need to invent new roles for their partners to take in adding value to their ecosystems. Second, they need to look at new types of partners that may not have made as much sense in the old days. The telcos are one possibility.

Bob, good way to put it. SaaS does not intentionally alienate existing partners, it simply adds strain by nature.

That said, I believe its the SaaS vendors duty to a.) see if there is a new spin to traditional channels to keep existing loyal partners in the loop and b.) excercise new channels. Doing this, no-one feels “left out.” Any new channels generally should have existing deep reach or mechanics that allow for rapid distribution of services.

I have been doing some research on SaaS and its future impact. Industry strategist Sramama Mitra has formulated the term called Enterprise 3.0 which is a combination of the extended enterprise and SaaS. Do check it out Enterprise 3.0 = (SaaS + EE) by Sramana MitraMitra.

As a SaaS provider of HR software for Global 2000 organizations, it has become very obvious to us the SMB market has many of the same problems that a G2000 does. The SMB just need solutions that are more pre-packaged and easy to use.

Workstream today just launched our mid-market suite of solutions - Worktream Professional, check out the release:

http://www.workstreaminc.com/company/pr2007/prjune18_07.asp

Workstream believes that solutions like Workstream Professional are a big win-win for both the Software Community as well as forward thinking SMB’s.

I have done a lot of work with Telcos from SaaS perspective and I have a somewhat different take than everyone else. While Telcos do have a relationship with virtually all of the SMBs, there are 2 things Telcos need to overcome before they will be successful selling SaaS. First, Telcos need to learn how to sell SaaS from a value perspective rather than price. SaaS is a new concept to SMBs and they don’t understand the value. Secondly, it will take several years for a Telco’s SaaS sales to exceed the $50 million mark. For most Telcos, $50M in annual sales is not interesting and therefore doesn’t get the attention needed for the service to take off.

John, I agree: it’s important for a telcos to make a value sell. I do believe, however, that telcos look at the long term potential for SaaS, even at smaller revenue figures of $50 million. I think telcos won’t want to “miss out” on a natural territory and capitalism at its best will kick in - if I don’t do it, my competitors will.

I think what will be interesting is how telcos will utilize SaaS to upsell or piggy back sell other services. If anything, that $50 million can drive other revenues, and frankly, that sort of synergy should be their goal.

I think Abe is on to something in regards to BT - they just launched a beta application for SMBs called “BizBox” in partnership with an ISV called Tierlinear - here is the blog: http://btbizbox.blogspot.com/

According to the blog BizBox is a “Business in a Box” solution aimed at SMBs with a range of basic productivity tools

Apparently BizBox is offering free accounts - http://www.btbizbox.com

Will be interesting to see how this develops

Hi James,

“Apparently BizBox is offering free accounts - http://www.btbizbox.com”

Yes - your right. BT are offering free accounts. :-)

“Will be interesting to see how this develops”

Its currently in beta, which means we still have a number of functional areas which we want to improve before it goes to a full launch.

For example, we want to include an accounting module which will provide small businesses with accounts receivable / payable reporting in the same solution. We also have some project management capability which has just been implemented which we want to enhance further.

However, we are taking our lead for the roadmap of this solution from the user community itself - so our roadmap is very much a set of requirements as requested by the users - and if demand dictates we build project management before accounting then so be it :-)

One thing we are looking to create is an environment where partners can extend the platform for their own or the general customer base and be part of the ecosystem. There are plenty of opportunities to add niche components for specific vertical markets which we feel is valuable for all involved.

Regards

Dean

[…] As mentioned before by Sinclair over at SaaSBlogs, telcos could play a huge role in driving SaaS adoption.  Smart SaaS ISV’s should be looking today, to partner with telcos in new and innovative ways. […]

[…] mentioned before by Sinclair over at SaaSBlogs, telcos could play a huge role in driving SaaS adoption. Smart SaaS ISV’s should be looking […]