MSPmentor

Even amid a questionable economy, John Roberts (pictured) sounds upbeat. As CEO of SugarCRM, Roberts leads one of Silicon Valley’s fastest-growing open source software providers. But that’s not all. SugarCRM also offers its software as a service (SaaS).

Smart move. As this site has pointed out before, the worlds of open source, managed services and SaaS are converging. And for good reason: Customers and their solutions providers increasingly want open options with predictable pricing and low acquisition costs. “The new rules of the industry are no proprietary code and no lock-in techniques,” said Roberts during a phone chat with me on January 16. Those trends and SugarCRM’s market opportunities should allow the company to launch an initial public offering within two years, he added. Read More >

Managed service providers should keep a close eye on NetSuite this month. The hosted accounting software provider is launching its initial public offering on our about December 20. NetSuite’s performance on Wall Street could provide some clues about the evolving software-as-a-service landscape. Read More >