The main problem with this services requirement is that the provider of the software as a service (SaaS) offering usually has limited professional services resources – and of course, many SaaS offerings become used around the world very quickly. For example, in a recent briefing with Salesforce.com, the company mentioned that it has some users in countries where it does not have offices. Deployment support can be a challenge to provide remotely, but Salesforce does, of course, have a website dedicated to help customers get the most out of their customer relationship management (CRM) deployments.
Companies have identified a niche in the market for the provision of SaaS applications support. An example is Saaspoint (previously called enterprise CRM), which provides implementation assistance, integration, configuration and even some add-on capabilities specifically for Salesforce.com (although it has also recently announced a partnership with Business Objects for its on-demand reporting offering). Saaspoint takes advantage of Salesforce.com’s AppExchange on-demand platform for hosting applications, and provides an application for estate agents (PropertyPoint), and for mobile field scheduling. However, its main emphasis at present is still on the services side of the business.
Companies like NetSuite, a provider of on-demand enterprise resource planning (ERP) and CRM software, have gone down the partner route by working with regional partners in countries where they have opened offices. The partner provides implementation services for customers (usually in conjunction with NetSuite), thus helping to expand the services that are needed to ensure successful deployment.
A more recent announcement comes from Google and Capgemini, which have formed a partnership around Google Apps. Capgemini is offering its desktop infrastructure and application support services to enterprise customers of Google Apps Premium Edition, while Capgemini will also resell Google Apps.
Software provided as a service has significant benefits to organizations, not least in that they need little or no internal infrastructure to support and upgrade them. However, the providers of SaaS applications still need partners to work with customers to deliver training, deployment services, and even support if they are to expand internationally.
Source: OpinionWire by Butler Group (www.butlergroup.com)
