One of the interesting developments in the ECM industry over the past year has been the development of some viable SaaS models for ECM delivery (SpringCM for example). The companies have started to get some traction and support from the venture community (SpringCM, for example, is backed by Foundation Capital out of Menlo Park, CA and has assembled an experienced industry team headed by CEO Dan Carmel.
One of the issues we probed in our "unconnected with AIIM" sample of end users was their receptivity to Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions (not just with regards to ECM, but in general). The specific questions was, "In the next 2-3 years, how likely is it that your organization would consider "buying" software as a service (the salesforce.com model) rather than buying the software outright?" The survey said...
Very likely = 15%
Likely = 20%
Somewhat likely = 27%
No way = 14%
I have no idea = 24%
The responses tell me that end users have come a long way in their potential responsiveness to a SaaS model of software delivery. Perhaps this is because they have been burned by software license and maintenance costs, perhaps this is because of the success of salesforce.com, but in any event, for 35% of end users, this is a solution they are likely or very likely to consider in the next 2-3 years.
There are other examples that cut across all company requirements. We are very impressed with the online backup sector. It’s a SaaS resource that you really can’t be without. Take a look at Storage Guardian (http://www.storageguardian.com), a company we follow, that offers that offers an on-line data management service for enterprise-wide LANs, including automated backup, off-site storage, and data recovery.
They have done well because they are an alternative to in-house capabilities that require H/W, S/W and staffing commitments.
Posted by: Howard Oliver | February 12, 2008 at 06:05 PM