the secret of SaaS for enterprises

SaaS is the way systems will be delivered in the future. The benefits are just too compelling. Most first generation SaaS applications, however, are designed for consumers or small businesses. This business model is favoured by investors who promote highly scalable out-of-the-box solutions because they make for a more stable (large) instal-base that achieves economies of volume. This model works for investors but not really for enterprise customers.  Enterprises pose unique challenges for SaaS. From identity/access, to data/operations and regulatory compliance; MSDN identifies the integration considerations and implications here (with a one-page summary). The secret, however, is for SaaS to be configured and supported for individual enterprises by solution providers. These tailored SaaS models will be delivered either by SaaS owners with local focus or third party aggregators who create context-specific support (a gap identified in the all-SaaS business concept). The trick is to make this work for investors.

Comments

[Engago team]

We focus completely on Saas as the concept will replace all softwares.
The sole problem is the integration of all the different web services a company selects. This has to be a real integration of web services, not a data exchange.

[Tony]

I agree - for enterprise 2.0 to be real, the user experience needs to be seamless. Its a big challenge right now but when we look at how distintegrated the experience is today between the multitude of desktop apps, I have no doubt it will be a far superior result.