Jeffrey Kaplan published an article on BusinessWeek Online about Software-as-a-Service myths:
In reading this article, I think you have to remember that BusinessWeek's target audience is broadly diversified. Certainly anyone that pays close attention to SaaS and the software industry won't be bowled over by such illuminating thoughts as...
Myth #6: SaaS will only have a minor impact on the software industry and will fade over time.
Does anyone who cares about SaaS, even tangentially, think SaaS will fade over time? Shouldn't a myth be somewhat pervasive before it's worth dispelling? Personally, I think the far more compelling myth to dispel is the opposite notion, that somehow SaaS is going to be the death knell of traditional enterprise software the world over.
UPDATE (4/19): Dennis Howlett has a side-by-side comparison of some of the basic components of On Premise software versus SaaS. It's a good start, and a worthy addendum to anyone reading the BW myths piece.
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Interesting question. I don't take as much issue with his use of the consumer antivirus examples because I think we desperately need a broader understanding of what SaaS really is...
Is it an alternative delivery model?
Is it an alternative pricing structure?
Is it either or must it be both?
I'd say All of the Above, which is why it's simply foolish for anyone to postulate that SaaS as currently constituted (i.e., multi-tenant, single instance, hosted subscription) will somehow overtake conventional licensing and on premise distribution now, if ever.
Posted by: Jason Wood | April 19, 2006 at 01:05 PM
Under Myth #8 - SaaS is only for corporate users, Kaplan states the following:
"Anyone who uses McAfee (MFE ) or Symantec (SYMC ) antivirus software to protect their home PCs likely uses their subscription and 'live update' features, which represent another example of SaaS."
Is this really SaaS in the same way as SFdC or NetSuite? My understanding is that the antivirus executable and libraries are still sitting on your harddrive. Isn't the "live update" essentially you downloading new libraries i.e. files? A bit of a stretch calling it Saas, isn't it?
Posted by: Mark Crofton | April 19, 2006 at 12:46 PM
Mark, thanks so much for the catch. I've been having problems with the link button on typepad of late, didn't realize the hyperlink wasn't functional.
Posted by: Jason Wood | April 19, 2006 at 12:43 PM
hey Jason, how about a link to the BW story?
Posted by: Mark Crofton | April 19, 2006 at 12:30 PM