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Enabling the
Software-as-a-Service / On-Demand Model
Software-as-a-Service
(SaaS) has become one of the fastest growing segments in the software
business. It is threatening and disrupting both established software
vendors and customer IT organizations. Software vendors cannot continue
doing “business as usual” if they want to achieve the most success
from their SaaS offerings. Key areas that need to change include…
Customer
Acquisition: Since revenues build more gradually than in a
traditional software delivery model, go-to-market strategies and
tactics must address the fundamental economics of the SaaS business
model.
Pricing
and Packaging: Pricing and packaging are even more critical
to achieving market traction and maximizing customer lifetime
value in the SaaS model. Because of its viral nature and deferred
revenues, SaaS economics can also be particularly challenging
for those accustomed to preparing economic models for traditional
software businesses, whether for capital acquisition or internal
planning. MarketShare
has developed two
SaaS-focused offerings: one for established vendors adding
a SaaS offering and the other to help SaaS start ups quickly achieve
critical mass. To learn more about these offerings click
here.
Business
Financing: The SaaS business model often create a cash flow
shortfall that can stall the progress of the software vendor –
even when packaging and pricing are right, and marketing and sales
approaches have been adjusted to accommodate SaaS. Often the solution
can rest with organizations willing to provide bridge financing
to help companies realize the long-term potential of their SaaS
offering.
Infrastructure:
Delivering software via the SaaS model means vendors are responsible
for providing high-availability infrastructure. This infrastructure
requires telco-grade performance and reliability along with “bullet-proof”
security, both physical and electronic. In adition the infrastructure
must include software necessary for customer self-provisioning,
transaction monitoring and billing.
In order to
help our clients address the broad range needs that can be critical
to success within the SaaS business model, MarketShare has formed
affiliations with selected organizations below whose services complement
our pricing and packaging offerings. We are pleased to bring these
vendors and their services to your attention. The offerings of each
vendor are briefly described below.
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OpSource,™ the SaaS delivery experts,
is focused on providing the operational infrastructure
and application services that enable companies to
offer web applications on-demand and software as a
service.
OpSource manages and delivers applications 24x7 for
companies from start-up to established on-demand providers
using its flagship platform OpSource On-Demand and
a suite of tools built specifically for on-demand.
OpSource's platform and Success-Based delivery model
are the competitive differentiators.
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Aria Systems is the premier provider of On-Demand
billing and customer management solutions. Aria's
clients span a variety of industries including Software
as a Service, Gaming, Non-profit, Telecommunications
and Residential Services.
Aria's Billing & Customer Management solution
delivers billing, customer management, and marketing
tools -- all delivered on-demand. The solution allows
businesses to focus on achieving their mission-critical
goals by automating processes, strengthening internal
controls, and building relationships while reducing
the costs associated with legacy systems
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LeCayla Technologies offers the first on-demand
metering and billing solution designed specifically
for SaaS. It is fully self-service, allowing the vendor
to get up and billing in hours. LeCayla provides full
Subscription Management, Pay-Per-Use Billing and Quota
Management with end-to-end support for customer registration,
usage metering, bill and tax calculation. The full
range of payment options including credit card and
net terms, financials and CRM integration are supported.
As an SaaS provider LeCayla also offers true SaaS
pricing options with no up front fees and no professional
services required.
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THINKstrategies is a strategic consulting
company that helps enterprises make better sourcing
decisions, IT solution providers make better marketing
decisions, and venture investors make better investment
decisions.
THINKstrategies is the only strategic consulting company
that focuses entirely on the sourcing and marketing
challenges faced by enterprises and solution providers
respectively as a result of today's IT industry inversion
and the shift toward utility computing, managed services,
software-as-a-service (SaaS) and outsourcing solutions.
Unlike traditional market research and consulting
firms that require clients to subscribe to their syndicated
research programs or initiate large-scale consulting
engagements, THINKstrategies' offers On-Demand Consulting
Services that are designed to quickly and economically
meet your strategic planning or specific marketing
requirements.
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SaaS Capital (SCi) helps pure SaaS companies
or companies transitioning in that direction bridge
the gap created by the extended payment terms of the
new model.
SCi offers working capital facilities -- loans based
on the backlog of booked contracts the business has
developed. These facilities grow as bookings increase.
Advance rates range from 25% to 85% of contract value
depending on the level of debt that is prudent for
the business. SCi can underwrite specific contracts
on a loan-by-loan basis, or can put a committed facility
in its place with many advances against new bookings.
SCi is run by experienced financial, operational,
and technical software executives and because SCi
works only with SaaS businesses, SCi has a high level
of technical expertise regarding building and maintaining
SaaS applications which is shared with their clients.
SCi’s service offerings provide the client a
competitive advantage by providing third-party certification
of their operational stability and the security and
integrity of their product offering and their customers’
data.
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