SaaS

Frankenstein seemed like a good idea at the time...

rglauser — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:30:58 -0500

...but then his cobbled-together self came alive and rampaged the village. Service Desk Manager is an admission of disparate legacy tools that needed to be somehow bundled to assuage the market. A single SKU only makes the procurement person's job easier and doesn't do much for IT. By the way, CA's talk of multi-tenancy in Service Desk Manager does not mean it is SaaS.

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Leadership - Project Management in Virtual Business

Martha Young — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:12:56 -0500

Leading and managing teams in a geographically distributed work environment presents a unique set of challenges. We are witnessing the start of the twilight years of hierarchical management, massive corporate buildings and employee relocation requirements. These Industrial Era command-and-control functions are increasingly being readdressed by firms as they seek to streamline processes and improve efficiencies, meet tightening budgets, and find and retain top talent.

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BizSpark launches start-ups into the cloud

Mitchell Ashley — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:58:47 -0500

We're seeing more and more programs aimed at supporting start-up businesses, entrepreneurs and innovators who jump into new technologies; and Microsoft's now jumping into the fray with BizSpark. Venture capitalists put together funds to foster iPhone app development. Google has its $10 million Google Android Developer Challenge. HP's jumped in with a contest for apps developed to promote its TouchSmart touchscreen computer.

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Software as a Service

James Fox — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:30:29 -0500

This article has inspired many questions I think need answered: 1. Will SaaS model become part of this seemless integration with the web? If so, how have web delivered applications models addressed operations models for support and delivery functions? 2. Has industry matured enough in these areas to begin to model the leaders of these types of technologies so that it is a viable market?

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MS Office apps to get Web front ends

Microsoft Subnet — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:54:23 -0400

The plan to turn MS Office into a service is not a shock. Still, more details on the plan are good to know. At the Professional Developers Conference Microsoft demonstrated "Office Web" applications, which will add a Web front end to the Office suite, while eliminating some features.

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Plenty of options besides Microsoft for hosted Microsoft apps

Microsoft Subnet — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:26:32 -0400

"Don't be a sheep!" claims this funny but pointed ad from Intermedia. The truth is that SaaS is going to be a giant rough spot for Microsoft. The current pricing system has ticked off its channel and its channel is the lifeblood of Microsoft. Partners get paid next to nothing for referrals and get the short end of the stick on the contract, too -- no contractual direct relationship with customers, but expected to support them. With no incentive to turn over users to Microsoft, hosted Microsoft SaaS solutions are beginning to sprout wildly to compete with Redmond.

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10 Things That Won't Make Windows 7 A Success (and 1 That Will)

Mitchell Ashley — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 04:33:03 -0400

What lessons did Windows Vista teach Microsoft? ComputerWorld is reporting Microsoft will keep the Windows 7 code name as the final product name for Windows OS destined to replace Vista. I suspect no one will be happier to turn the page on Vista than Microsoft.

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Office Cloud Breaks Through Headwind

Mitchell Ashley — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:30:30 -0400

Windows Cloud OS and Office Live Lite Office apps. Well, Ballmer is turning out to be quite the hype machine himself, releasing the industry buzzhounds with his Windows Cloud pre-announcement this week. Finally, something juicy to speculate and write about. The shine wore off Google Chrome long ago, and I'm getting tired of waiting for Congress to pass my individual bailout package.

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New SaaS platform embraces ISVs

Mitchell Ashley — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:31:39 -0400

Savvis announced Monday its new SaaS Hosting Platform initiative directed at attracting independent software vendors moving to the SaaS model. While the Savvis announcement isn't entirely new territory, it is one of the first pure-play hosting companies to make a major move to wrap a complete program around SaaS ISVs' needs. Bryan Doerr, Savvis CTO, described the offering as a "hybrid" when I talked with him, something between what traditional enterprise and Internet B2C customers need. Enterprises tend to have tighter service-level agreements and more change-control constraints, whereas Internet sites and e-commerce apps see a lot more software and content changes but haven't always had much of an SLA backing them up. The real news in the Savvis announcement, though, is who Savvis has in its sights: OpSource. Opsource has long been the darling of venture-capital-funded SaaS software start-ups, offering a "turn over ops to us" approach to ISVs that may not want the burden of running a 24/7 online SaaS operation. Savvis is also trying to lay claim to the SaaS platform business over other hosters, like Rackspace, that would like the same customers. So, is the Savvis announcement just warmed-over hosting, or is there more to the story?

First, what Savvis announced: Its announcement falls into three areas: core infrastructure, life-cycle services and marketplace services. Picture a global hosting company adding OpSource services plus partner services for development, and a Salesforce.com or Jamcracker partner ecosystem with better network connections and traffic management.

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The Holistic Approach to Security

rsherstobitoff — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:56:15 -0400

In the wake of undiscovered data breaches and subsequent public exposure, a layered approach to security is becoming every more important to protecting critical assets.

Despite the increase in the number of data breaches via illicit means, internal controls seem to fail when it comes to the assurance that critical assets remain uncompromised.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center a total of 336 breaches have been reported in 2008 alone, putting the overall number at 69% greater then this time last year . This is a concern for security teams especially given the fact that a lack of dedicated resources exist to combat and revert this trend.

The problem as it exists today – hidden threats from within

The variable of hidden and unidentified infections will almost certainly introduce a degree of unknowingness and concern when it comes to the protection of sensitive information and adherence to regulations.

More and more malware seen on the market today is designed to target specific platforms and the users that interact with them. Banker Trojans for example are an increasing concern for the financial and e-commerce communities; as a result malware is targeting specific payment or banking platforms advertently stealing credentials, therefore; fueling a rise in financial and economic fraud.

According to a recent study, annual revenue loss due to online fraud in 2007 amounted to $3.6 billion and is a trend that is to be consistent for 2008 and beyond . Online fraud and the use of targeted phishing campaigns have evolved in parallel to each other and are expected to continue to steadily increase. Furthermore, these tactics have become very popular amongst the hacker elite and have taken an evolutionary step forward in sophistication and complexity.

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Anatomy of a Data Breach: A Global Perspective

rsherstobitoff — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:53:42 -0400

In the wake of undiscovered data breaches and subsequent public exposure, regulatory compliance and security audit standards are becoming ever more important to protecting critical assets.

Despite the increase in the number of data breaches via illicit means, internal controls seem to fail when it comes to the assurance that critical assets remain uncompromised. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center a total of 336 breaches have been reported in 2008 alone, putting the overall number at 69% greater then this time last year. This is a concern for security teams especially given the fact that a lack of dedicated resources exist to combat and revert this trend.

This is significantly important to take into consideration when going through the formal audit process to certify adherence to Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), Graham Leach Bliley (GLBA), Payment Card Industry (PCI), or Health Insurance and Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

With the significant increase in data exposure corporations can’t afford to take short-cuts when it comes to information assurance. Otherwise it is almost certain that one will become a victim of a serious exposure of sensitive information. This article will explore the several disconnects between established and accepted security audit framework and the variable of hidden infections.

The problem as it exists today – hidden threats from within

Why Security-as-a-Service (SaaS) reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO)

rsherstobitoff — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:04:25 -0400

Recently I have been getting a number of questions concerning the cost savings of a security-as-a-service (SaaS) model versus a traditional on-premise solution. While there are certainly a number of direct benefits to the end-user (easier to use and upgrades are usually transparent), I thought for the purpose of this article to elaborate on the most important one: “reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) via the outsourcing of security services”.

So what is exactly meant by reducing the total cost of ownership? Well according to industry analysts a good portion of small to medium sized companies out-source their security services to a 3rd party provider. Obviously this strategy has real benefits especially to companies who lack the technical ability to manage and maintain an on-premise anti-malware solution.

As a result, we're seeing a lot of SMBs outsource their desktop anti-malware requirements to a managed service provider and/or adopt a Security-as-a-Service model. This helps reduce complexity and time-to-market when implementing new security technologies and will not require a high degree of skill to maintain the solution.

Because SaaS traditionally hasn’t resided on-premise it takes the overhead of managing and maintaining a complex myriad of technologies and places the responsibility with the provider. Take for example a small medicare facility with 100 employees; now if we factor in the following variables into the equation we can clearly see the reduction in TCO as a SaaS model eliminates a number of headaches associated with a traditional on-premise model:

* Eliminates the need for additional hardware or resources required for managing and maintaining a SaaS based anti-malware solution.

* Upgrades are usually transparent, thus, the need for dedicating time and resources to upgrade from one version to another is no longer required.

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Intro to the Business Technology Roundtable

BizTech — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 21:12:09 -0400

Today, the application of technology is an integral part of most businesses –- in some shape or form. However, while many decision makers are now primarily concerned with using technology to pursue new business opportunities, and gaining business-related capabilities is their main objective, the vendors and suppliers that they encounter sometimes don't speak the same language. Matching buyer's business needs with technology vendor's offerings is sometimes referred to as the business/technology alignment chasm. Filling that void with substantive information, meaningful guidance, and compelling "how-to" storylines is the charter of the Business Technology Roundtable (BTR). We seek to shed light where there has been an apparent absence of editorial illumination. A business technologist -- perhaps a new term to some -- should be focused on driving business technology adoption, rather than purely the acquisition of new systems. They should also value delivering business results promptly, instead of merely applying inventive product features and functions. Once informed, they'll likely crave low-cost integration into existing business processes, pay-as-you-go pricing, and efficient knowledge transfer. Given this backdrop, new business technology adoption is often more dependent upon changing behavior than the common prior scenario -- changing underlying technology. Within this new scenario, the insights and recommendations of trusted peers and independent subject-matter experts supersede all others in the process of choosing a justifiable approach, and supporting key business decisions. As the co-authors of BTR, we will be on the lookout for resources -- plus proven and repeatable processes -- to speed-up the shift to subscription-based business technology offerings. We'll also highlight the competencies required to enable the facilitation of adoption education and acceleration. A Call to Action

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Former Cisco exec Jayshree Ullal turns up at a security SaaS start-up

Cisco Subnet — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:15:00 -0400

Less than three months after her surprise resignation from Cisco, Jayshree Ullal has turned up at the board of security software-as-a-service company Zscaler. Ullal, who in May resigned from her job as senior VP of Cisco's Data Center, Switching and Services Group, after 15 years with the company, brings strong business experience and strategic insight to Zscaler, says the security software provider.

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Cisco buys e-mail supplier for the cloud; goes head-to-head against Microsoft

Cisco Subnet — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:42:38 -0400

It looks like Cisco is going head-to-head against e-mail software giant Microsoft with its $215 million acquisition of PostPath, a maker of e-mail and calendaring software. PostPath apparently touts its PostPath Server e-mail and collaboration server as a replacement or supplement to Microsoft Exchange. What's more interesting is that Cisco plans to put the server in the cloud and selling an e-mail and calendaring service to its customers - this is perhaps Cisco's first formal offering in the oh-so fashionable cloud computing space that pundits have been busy discussing.

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5 rules for guaranteed failure at SaaS, without even trying

Mitchell Ashley — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:11:57 -0400

We're all too familiar with outages in Google's Gmail, Salesforce.com and the RIM BlackBerry network. Recent failures by Apple MobileMe, Jott and Cuil online-delivered software demonstrate that software-as-a-service -- or Software+Services, as Microsoft would call it -- isn't just a matter of putting your software up on the Internet, gathering users and declaring your Version 1.0 ready so you can start charging for services. The three recent examples of MobileMe, Jott and Cuil clearly demonstrate other major pitfalls in trying to deliver online software. Are all online software services destined to repeat these same mistakes, or will we learn from the mistakes of others? I certainly hope the latter.

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Cisco still foggy about cloud services

Mitchell Ashley — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:56:46 -0400

NWW Cisco Subnet has a post about bloggers writing prolifically about Cisco and cloud services. Setting the Cisco WebEx acquisition aside for the moment, Cisco could and probably will offer some type of software-as-a-service or cloud software service themselves. I would expect the best SaaS opportunities to come in the VoIP market before it shows up anywhere else for Cisco. That said . . .

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Cisco exec pops up as a strategic advisor to SaaS start-up

Cisco Subnet — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:34:39 -0400

Yesterday we noted that Chirag Mehta, an exec working at SAP blogged that he believed that Cisco's virtualization efforts could eventually lead it to becoming a software-as-a-service player - even buying up a couple of key SaaS players. So it was interesting when today we came across a press release with "Cisco" and "SaaS" in the text.

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Why Cisco could have SaaS in its sights

Cisco Subnet — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:38:36 -0400

It appears that bloggers are writing more about Cisco and cloud computing than Cisco itself is. In his aptly named Cloud Computing blog, Chirag Mehta, an architect and design and innovation strategist with SAP raises the issue that Cisco could partner with a cloud vendor to offer richer network management. He also believes that Cisco could aquire a couple of key SaaS players to offer network-managed services.

He writes:

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Podcast: Microsoft Spills the Beans on Hosted Exchange / SharePoint

Mitchell Ashley — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:27:43 -0400

I’ve had a lot of questions about Microsoft’s hosted Exchange and SharePoint offerings since Microsoft’s announcements at the July 08 Worldwide Partner Conference. Most of the details divulged there were just about the partner pricing, but I want to know; who owns the customer, how will support work, can anyone call Microsoft or must the partner, what if the customer switches partners, are there any SLAs, what are the differences between the deskless and full product offering? Those are just a few of the questions we get answered in this podcast interview with John Betz, Director Product Management for Microsoft Business Online Services.

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