There’s high-level support for cloud computing in the government space so, unsurprisingly, vendors are following the money. The latest to do so is Microsoft. The company this week rolled out a federal-specific version of its Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS). And you can bet Google and Amazon Web Services will be making some federal cloud moves as well. Here are some of the details and implications.
HHS Opts for Cloud-based CRM
Posted February 18th, 2010 by John Moore
Government agencies continue to adopt the cloud, with the Department of Health and Human Services providing the latest proof point. HHS has tapped Acumen Solutions, a business and technology consulting firm, to provide cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM). Here are some quick details.
Nimsoft Launches Unified Dashboard for On-Premise, Cloud Monitoring
Posted October 20th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Nimsoft has launched a Unified Monitoring dashboard (shown above) that allows managed service providers to track the health of on-premise systems and cloud applications — from Google Apps to Salesforce.com. In recent months, several vendors have told me they’re working on similar dashboards but I saw a demo of the Nimsoft offering last week and it seemed to work as advertised. Here are some quick thoughts on the effort.
ZOHO: Blending SaaS And Managed Services
Posted July 23rd, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Consider two of the biggest questions facing MSPs: First, how will managed services and SaaS (software as a service) converge with one another? Second, what role will MSPs play in that convergence? Take a look at ZOHO Corp. and you might begin to find some key trends and answers. Here’s why.
Gartner: The Great SaaS Debate
Posted July 9th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Generally speaking, I respect Gartner’s research. I’ve quoted Gartner’s analysts since about 1992. But a recent Gartner report suggests businesses are only “somewhat satisfied” with software as a service (SaaS). I know SaaS has its flaws and challenges. But are businesses only “somewhat” satisfied with SaaS? Really?
NetSuite Launches Cloud for ISVs
Posted March 24th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
I overlooked this piece of news from last week — until I spotted it on Jeff Kaplan’s blog: NetSuite, one of the better-known ERP software as a service (SaaS) providers, has launched a cloud for ISVs (independent software vendors) to develop and deploy new applications. But this isn’t the only way to build a cloud service.
ManageEngine + Zoho = Managed SaaS Services?
Posted February 26th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Quick, name a company in the managed services market that successfully competes against Google Apps, Salesforce.com and Microsoft — all at the same time. Before you answer, consider this name: AdventNet — which owns Zoho (SaaS applications) and ManageEngine (managed services software). Take a closer look, and you’ll discover Zoho and ManageEngine are cross-leveraging their technologies. Here’s how.
Google’s Emerging SaaS Rival
Posted February 17th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
When we covered the new Google Apps Reseller program a few weeks ago, plenty of managed service providers stood up and took notice. Now, I invite you to learn about the company that’s well positioned to compete with Google in the Software as a Service (SaaS) market. You’ll find the scoop over here, on TheVARguy.com.
Salesforce.com Enters Web Hosting Business
Posted November 3rd, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Competition in the Web hosting market continues to rise. The latest example involves Salesforce.com, which has unveiled a new service — called Force.com Sites — that allows customers to run their Web sites in the Salesforce.com cloud. The move comes only a few days after Microsoft launched its Azure cloud services.
Kenexa Drags Down Software as a Service Stocks
Posted September 14th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
MSPmentor’s SaaS 20 Stock Index declined 1.47% for the week ended September 12, dragged down by bad financial news at Kenexa Corp., which specializes in HR-related on-demand applications. It was the fourth consecutive week that our index, which tracks software as a service (SaaS) stocks, declined. Here’s what’s going wrong — and right — with SaaS stocks.
SaaS Stocks Fall 2.13% for Week Ended August 29
Posted August 31st, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Disappointing quarterly results at Dell Inc. dragged down MSPmentor’s SaaS 20 Stock Index for the week ended August 29. The index, which tracks the software as a service industry, fell 2.13% during the week.
Salesforce.com (CRM) Raises SaaS Growth Concerns; Drags Down SaaS 20 Stock Index
Posted August 22nd, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Salesforce.com (CRM) delivered good news — and bad news — in its latest quarterly results, pulling down the SaaS 20 Stock Index 2.86 percent for the week ended August 22. It’s the first time since July 11 that our software as a service index has posted a weekly decline.
Open Source SaaS Scores Again With Apatar
Posted July 11th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Software as a service (SaaS) and open source continue to converge. The latest example is Apatar On-Demand, which now synchronizes Salesforce.com CRM and Intuit QuickBooks accounting software.
SugarCRM CEO John Roberts Describes SaaS Strategy, Potential 2010 IPO
Posted June 19th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
John Roberts is sitting in the middle of the perfect storm. As CEO of SugarCRM, he leads one of the fastest-growing open source application providers. And roughly 30 percent of SugarCRM’s customer wins now involve software as a service (SaaS) or an on-demand approach — meaning the company competes with traditional CRM (Siebel) and hosted models like Salesforce.com.
Should MSPs Embrace iPhone 3G?
Posted June 10th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Now that Apple has finally announced the next-generation iPhone (known as iPhone 3G0, it’s time for managed service providers to formulate a support strategy for the Apple device.
SaaS Stocks Down 12% So Far In 2008
Posted June 9th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
The next time somebody tells you software as a service (SaaS) is a home-run opportunity, tell them to take a close look at MSPmentor’s SaaS 20 Stock Index, which tracks many of the world’s “leading” SaaS companies.
Salesforce.com: The First $1 Billion SaaS Company?
Posted May 21st, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Salesforce.com announced strong quarterly financial results today, and the company expects revenue for its full year (ending in January 2009) to exceed $1 billion. Does that mean Salesforce.com will become the first $1 billion software as a service (SaaS) company?
Wall Street: Turning Sour On NetSuite, SaaS?
Posted May 5th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Talk about role reversal. A few months ago, RightNow was plummeting and NetSuite was skyrocketing. But the two software as a service (SaaS) companies appear to have traded places. Only a day after RightNow announced financial progress, NetSuite delivered growth projections that disappointed Wall Street.
Microsoft Set to Counter Google Apps
Posted April 28th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Microsoft is preparing an “application streaming” initiative, in an effort to more effectively position Microsoft Office against Google Apps, according to ComputerWorld. Anyone who thinks this is nothing more than a commodity software war needs to think again.
Salesforce.com Shares Hit An All-time High
Posted April 23rd, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Software as a service (SaaS) remains a hot topic on Wall Street, especially as Salesforce.com shares hit an all-time high. The company recently announced a partnership with Google, and there’s speculation on TechCrunch.com that the search giant and the on-demand software company may get even cozier together.
Google Apps, Salesforce.com: So Happy Together?
Posted April 8th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
A few weeks ago I noted that Salesforce.com plans to make a major announcement on April 14. I wasn’t sure what the news was, but there are growing indications that it includes Salesforce.com gaining closer hooks to Google Apps. If true, this could be a defining moment for the software as a service industry.
Salesforce.com: What’s Coming April 14?
Posted March 25th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Move over, Steve Jobs. Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff is teasing press and analysts with a cryptic invite to a major announcement on April 14. Salesforce.com won’t say what’s cooking.
Software as a Service Stocks: What Went Wrong?
Posted March 20th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Ironically, one of the hottest technology trends — software as a service (SaaS) — has been burning investors on Wall Street. As a group, SaaS stocks are down 30 percent year to date, a far worse showing than the DOW (down about 9.74 percent) and the Nasdaq composite index (down almost 18 percent), according to SeekingAlpha.com.
Get Started: Visit our new 
