I recently wrote a whitepaper for the SaaS 3.0 business models, on the factors of technology and business adoption. The highlights were the following, but please contact me to get a copy of the whitepaper.
Technology
- Identity. As SaaS applications enters the space of common business applications, identity and federation is one of the major areas of focus.
- Platform. The platforms have been in focus so many times, but SaaS 3.0 is not about technology. This is why the platform for SaaS is shifting. Cloud computing at its best.
- Offline vs. Online. We mature the technology levels and offline application capabilities for SaaS 3.0 are focus for SaaS 3.0.
- Enterprise applications. ERP has long been a risk for online applications. The assumption was that enterprise and ERP application could not survive in SaaS business models. Web-Oriented Architecture (WOA) takes place in this scope.
- Intelligent web. Business intelligence is so important for the SaaS 3.0 arena; microformats, natural language search, data mining and machine learning are just some of the terms to work for in 3.0.
Business
- Social networking. It is no more a buzz – it is the
- Billing. Of so many tried, of so many failed. Cash is king, and billing is so very difficult, why I think billing will be in focus in SaaS 3.0.
- New business channels. The old business channels will change, and we will see new sales adoption take form. Through SaaS 2.0 people embraced the white label approach, giving little increase or high complications.
- Online experience. Online purchase, support and delivery of the application will be replaced with an overall end-to-end experience throughout the sale.
- Revenue. Expectations are high in times of economic crisis. SaaS has been presumed to be the solution for every company’s cash-burn, IDC, Gartner and Forrester are praying to the loads – that SaaS will survive. Very little customer evidence has been shown, but SaaS 3.0 will be all about maturing the usage of SaaS as a business model.
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