Transparency in companies, publishing dashboards to everyone to keep everyone updated of the progress and not being able to adjust data can be scary for some people. A BI fail in a large corporation, we often consider faulty process or management to be the reason but it might be due to lack transparency between managers, board members and shareholders. Managers always refer to preferring  accuracy over speed, but accuracy takes months to implement so managers tweak the data which makes it useless. Nowadays, new generation managers are politics free and depend on technology and SaaS apps for improvement and speedy delivery of data. They don’t mind sacrificing 100% accuracy to 80% if they can get the job done 5-10 times faster. Read more at :

http://www.business2community.com/business-intelligence/dark-side-business-intelligence-01845255#7ot2lqmRUYVhQfAj.97

Companies, today, are migrating to cloud in order to minimize the cost and efforts. This means shifting from on-premises system to cloud. More companies are adopting Iaas or PaaS model. Companies have to refactor or re-write the pieces of application for cloud platform. In this process companies may fail to assess, whether do they even need these models? Or will it offer any value to the company? One more model “SaaS’’which was the original cloud (introduced 15 years back) is overlooked by IT. SaaS is better, more efficient and less costly. There more than 2000 SaaS offerings with a large range, those are easier to deal with. Companies can use the mixture of Iaas and SaaS in the cloud. To read more, please click on the following link: http://www.infoworld.com/article/3055849/saas/dont-overlook-saas-the-original-cloud-option.html

The worldwide market for cloud-based SaaS offerings is expected to expand by about 20 percent per year through 2018, when it could exceed the $100 billion mark.

- International Data Corporation (IDC)

In the world of softwares, cloud is becoming the next big thing. Companies are now switching to cloud based delivery models. But that is not an easy task. For this a number of factors need to be considered like:

• The process by which new products are developed and old products are reconfigured for the cloud
• The ways companies should manage customer relationships
• The pace at which product-development teams should operate
• Companies’ tolerance of failure
• The degree to which companies are willing to invest in new technologies and capabilities

Keeping these factors in mind, Santiago Comella-Dorda, Chandra Gnanasambandam and Bhavik Shah, have listed out six principles that will help companies to make an easy shift towards cloud. They are:

1. Emphasize minimum viable products rather than ‘big bang’ releases
2. Treat users as part of the day-to-day development team
3. Expect and tolerate failure
4. Adopt agile approaches to software development
5. Give developers quality-assurance and testing responsibility
6. Invest in cutting-edge capabilities

To know more, please read the following article at McKinsey Insights:

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/business_technology/from_box_to_cloud

From Software and Platform as a service to data as a service, the trend has always been to evolve to the requirements of the current generation. The next step is mixing them all together and mass upscaling of the data in the system to provide Big Data solutions as a service (or BDaaS). Multiple businesses in the past have sprung up and are offering cloud based Big Data solutions. Big Data refers to the large, mostly unstructured information created and stored, and the analysis and use of this data is called Big Data Analytics. BDaaS is a term used to describe the outsourcing of Big Data functions to the cloud. It includes the supply of data, providing the analytical tools and the actual analysis of the data. BDaaS can also include consulting and advisory services. Read more at : http://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2015/04/27/big-data-as-a-service-is-next-big-thing/

Cloud Services is one of the fastest growing market segments. Be it SaaS, PaaS or IaaS, cloud solutions are offering a lucrative opportunity for growth and innovation. But, is innovation, just in the cloud service enough for customer satisfaction and retention? The answer to this question is NO. For, consistent growth, innovation in other aspects of the cloud business is also required. One of these aspects is the billing and pricing model.

Currently, many pricing models are there in existence, such as, Freemium, flat rate, subscriptions, perpetual , multi-tier packages based on functionality, per user per click and CPU power / storage used etc. And the billing models are in the form of monthly, quarterly, annual, pay as you go and pay for what you use models.

But, what these models lack is flexibility, especially in SaaS segment. This is because cloud vendors do not want to change their cash flow models from a big full pie at a time to pieces of the pie in installments i.e. by taking customer payments from fully up front license bills to smaller usage bills split down to monthly fees. Also, in flexible cloud billing and delivery, there are a lot of complexities involved like in telecom billing.

There is a need for innovation in this segment as this is what the customers desire. This need has been identified and successfully catered to by Kahootz, a British cloud collaboration vendor. More such initiatives, leading to greater transparency and comparability will be the future of cloud pricing and billing in years to come.

To know more, please read the following article by Ian Moyse, Board Member, Eurocloud UK and Governance Board Member, Cloud Industry Forum (CIF), at business2community.com:

http://www.business2community.com/cloud-computing/cloud-promised-world-utility-billing-01221718

Like in any other service, in SaaS also, customer service is the most important element. And this becomes even more important because SaaS customers are different. They not only need service at the point of sales, but also for the whole duration of use of the software. If satisfied, then only, will they renew the subscription, otherwise not.

Micah Solomon, Customer Service Consultant, in his article at Forbes, explains the importance of customer service in SaaS by taking an example of PayScale, a B2B SaaS company. According to Mike Metzger, CEO of PayScale, “The SaaS environment makes the threshold for satisfying experience higher. We’re always working on it.”

Micah has also shared few tips for a successful SAAS customer service. Some of them are:

• Hire the right people
• Carefully define and put into place customer interaction standards and guidelines.
• Beef up your self-service options.
• Always be there for them.

Follow these tips and boost up your customer service, because ‘customer relations’ is the key to a successful SaaS business.

To know more, please visit the following link:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2015/04/25/how-and-why-to-improve-customer-service-at-your-saas-company-starting-today/

CPQ is a set of software applications which enables businesses to Configure, Price and Quote. Nowadays CPQ solutions are providing a platform to quickly adapt and launch goods and services. CPQ tools can be used as software-as-a-service (SaaS) through the cloud. It can help to break down organizational barriers and provide a single view of all aspects of the customer i.e. sales process and product. Mark Bishop (Product marketing manager at CloudSense), writes in his article about key points to consider when a company consider to implement CPQ. Read more at: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/digital-marketing-features/cpq-7-ways-to-get-it-right/1246

A global provider of SaaS based mobile life sciences customer relationship management solutions brings in new enhancement to its product StayinFront Touch RX(R) which can run both on iPad and Windows 8 tablet devices. This is very helpful since it provides better access to critical information and data resources which makes the work simpler and maximizes the impact while working with reps in field. It also enables access of sales territories, analytics and reports, track call activities streamline Time off Territory requests and execute field coaching reports. Viewing and tracking information and progress has become easier. They have more access to detailed information with better targeting and enhanced calendar which improves reps’ ability to more effectively manage and sell in their territories and eliminates the need to toggle between systems to see all scheduled appointments.

Stayin Front is a provider of full suite of mobile, cloud based field force effectiveness and CRM for consumer goods and life science organizations. Vast number of countries use it to make their work easier and to improve their business. Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/newest-release-of-stayinfront-crm-for-life-sciences-delivers-a-single-mobile-device-system-for-reps-and-managers-2014-07-14 

Ceridian announced Dayforce Recruiting- real-time SaaS based application, which includes payroll, workforce management, benefits and HR. This application provides recruiters and hiring managers with the intuitive means to identify staffing needs, create job requisitions, attract candidates, and hire best-fit job candidates.

To read more, visit the following link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/award-winning-ceridian-dayforce-human-capital-management-extends-industrys-only-single-hcm-application-with-dayforce-recruiting-2014-05-21-917340?reflink=MW_news_stmp 

While considering Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution versus a traditional on premise software application, several factors should be kept in mind  at the time of calculating total cost of ownership and ROI. Both software providers and customers can be benefitted from the efficiency of the cloud's economic model. TO know about SaaS pricing, please go through the following link:

http://www.business2community.com/cloud-computing/saas-pricing-compare-cost-premise-vs-saas-0847567#!OHXf2

WORKTERRA, a provider of Human Capital Management software solutions, announced the addition of Intermedia (one-stop shop for cloud IT services and business applications) to its BenAdmin platform. WORKTERRA BenAdmin delivers an enhanced user experience, further engaging the employee in their benefits decisions. With the WORKTERRA BenAdmin platform, Intermedia has the ability to manage employee benefits information through one consolidated, SaaS delivered application designed to increase efficiency and reduce costs.

Read more at:http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1925615 

Software as a Service and cloud computing service providers are targeting school administrators. The objective is to demonstrate to the students the virtues of the vendors' hardware products and software solutions to gain their allegiance later in the business world. So, smart SaaS companies can capitalize on the data they collect to provide benchmarks and KPIs that offer greater value to their customers.

To know more about this aspect, read the article by Jeff Kaplan, managing director of THINKstrategies and founder of the Cloud Computing Showplace, visit http://www.technewsworld.com/story/79979.html

Nowadays software industry around the world is focused on the cloud. Workday Inc. is a human capital management and financial management software firm that joined the cloud bandwagon recently. HCM which falls in the domain of ERP solutions is becoming more and more acceptable ever since ERP solutions are available over cloud. The global SaaS-based ERP software market will grow at CAGR of 14.21% from 2011 to 2105. The major factor for this ERP growth as SaaS model is due to the lower cost of ownership.

Read more about this aspect, visit the following link: http://www.gurufocus.com/news/255442/workday-growth-continues-with-erp-as-the-saas-application-market-is-booming 

It is evident that Amazon Web Services trades at a discount relative to other cloud companies despite higher sales growth.Should infrastructure as a service (IaaS) players like AWS always opt for discounting option as like application-based peers?That argument was floated by Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein, who raised his price target for Amazon shares based on a few moving parts.

To read more, visit Larry Dignan‘s article by clicking on the following link:

http://www.zdnet.com/amazon-web-services-whats-it-worth-7000027433/

Few years ago, Internet marketing in India would have meant designing On-Premise solutions for activities such as CRM or ERP. Products and tools from global software vendors were available, but integration and customization often meant huge expenditure. Today, with the SaaS delivery model, software and related data are centrally hosted on the cloud and can be accessed through a Web browser, resulting in better operations with significantly less expenditure. Migrating to a SaaS model makes sense for an e-commerce company, but it is also relevant for a company which deals in the age-old business like auto loans. A principal reason for such industry-wide demand of SaaS is its ability to make decisions faster. Sunil Padmanabhan, research director for Gartner in India had said recently that "SaaS is extremely real in India and there is a large critical mass in adoption”.

To read more, visit reputed journalist Rajiv Rao’s article by clicking on the following link:

http://www.zdnet.com/in/reaching-for-the-cloud-indias-saas-journey-7000023820/

The benefits of cloud-based ERP systems are well known. These solutions involve far less upfront investment, can be implemented in weeks instead of months or years & can be treated as operating expenditure rather than capital expenditure. Scalability is another advantage of cloud based ERP systems. However, if cloud based ERP solutions had no snags, then premise-based solutions would have disappeared years ago. As this is not the case, it’s worth examining the drawbacks of the SaaS model in ERP, which translate to the strengths of the premise-based model.

For a detailed view on this debate, please visit Tracey Schelmetic’s article link as given below:

http://www.thomasnet.com/journals/techtrends/articles/enterprise-resource-planning-better-on-premise-or-cloud-based