Going saas a viable option for today?

In a recessionary economy professionals should be encoraging client to think of as many ways as possible to conserve precious cash resources while eeking as much out of assets as possible.

In the good times, the software vendors find it easy to get customers to buy into the next shiny new thing. Today’s market is much tougher. I have commented elsewhere that buyers need be careful of snake oil salesmen in at least one category, but is the same true for saas providers? That all depends.

In a conversation with Rachel Happe, we tossed around the notion of using free or very low cost software as a way of injecting something novel into your marketing by way of building community. Given the ready access to services and tools you can safely use for non-critical but important aspects of your business, we agreed that the vital ingredient is one of culture. If management is paranoid about revealing anything, then as Rachel said: “The chances are the business doesn’t have a social gene in its corporate cropse.”

But is this more hot air from yet another social media maven. No. Rachel blogged her experience following redundancy:

Yesterday, as many of you know, I was given an unexpected vacation.  And, cut off from my daily work network, I of course turned to my band of online friends.  I was also a little curious about what might happen…I am not typically the type to ask for help so, I’m often surprised when it appears…so I was curious.  And what happened, was an amazing outpouring from my network .  Some expressions of empathy, some humorous or entertaining tidbits, but more than I was expecting, people who wanted to help or had leads.  I spent the day today talking and emailing with people and finding all sort of opportunities. I am in awe – and I feel so fortunate and blessed. So, if you have a boss or a colleague who is a cynic about social media, tell them my story…and if they do not value that (or heaven forbid they don’t see the ROI), they will reap what they sow and never understand why social media is so powerful.

Living proof that a digital network works.

Looking broader, I started wondering whether clients will be prepareed to make the jump to saas. Geva Perry has offered a spirited interpretation of the difference between capex and opex as it applies to saas. The ongoing debate got slightly bogged down in semantics but his point about cost comparisons is well made. I argue that saas removes a lot of cost which otherwise is overlooked in most on-premise deployments and that in the current environment, companies need certainty of a kind the saas providers can offer.

Not everyone feels the same way. Turning back to my discussion with Philip Woodgate, he was of the view that buyers will run for the hills this year. I understand the logic, especially if they have on premise applications that are doing the job. I would counter, suggesting that the very benefits of real-time access to the same data, regardless of location are enough to at least get me seriously considering the saas alternatives.

Talking of added value Emily Coltman Tweeted to say she has launched a series of short training videos. First up is one on using Excel pivot tables. The thought of that makes me cringe at the best of times but at £7.50 a pop, it’s rip roaring value. A course weighs in at £19.50 – again, petty cash.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Report: Gmail about one-third as expensive as hosted e-mail
• Microsoft 2.0 feels data center pinch
• What Will Sell in 2009? SAAS, Mobile Apps & Security
• I’ll See Your 50% Saving and Raise You