Haut Tech

It doesn’t take a lot to see what we’ve been writing about in the month and a half Haut Tec has been around. So, just because it is the time of year when everyone is putting together predictions for the new year and hanging them out to view, I’ll make a bold prediction for our future – more cloud computing, SaaS, Agile, RIA and the business of On-Demand services. We’ll find other subjects I’m sure, but these subjects are core of our work and in fact – the issues that lead on most lists of computing technology for the near term.

Thanks to everyone who has joined us over the past couple of months. We have been pleased with the response and the comments we’ve gotten from our readers. We have lots of plans for the new year and hope you do too!

The other day something happened that brought back a lot of memories. I have been an enterprise systems consultant for many years and in that time have been involved in a lot of interviews – both as a subject and an interviewer. One of the most difficult interview types is the “team interview” where a client team interviews the consultant team. With the economy pressing tough choices on everyone – team interviews on conference calls are a necessary evil – but after my latest experience I realized there is a whole generation of people who have never had to do it.

Recently I read a discussion highlighted by Herb Sutter on his weblog, Sutter’s Mill. Herb is a well-known and respected leader in development and C++. In his article, he covered many of the misconceptions that seem to exist around user interfaces for Internet-based applications. The question is – are developers and product managers thinking too rigidly when they approach a SaaS application? Do “Web 2.0″ and Rich Internet Applications (RIA) have value in SaaS and On-Demand applications?

This is the second in our series of of four articles about “The Long Tail” and services (SaaS, On-Demand, etc.) and the Internet.

In the first article in this series, we asked the question, “Which of Joel York’s Top Ten Do’s and Don’ts of SaaS” relate to the concept of The Long Tail?” If you haven’t read Joel’s article I encourage you to do so because – in one way or other all the do’s and don’ts are related to the network effect described by The Long Tail.

SaaS and cloud-computing in general are the hot topic in technology now – and why not? They promise to lower costs and improve productivity during one of the worst downturns in memory. But, along with the promises to buyers, has come some products led primarily by “gold rush fever” and little else. What is different this time around? Most SaaS and cloud-computing products have a ‘try-before-you-buy” strategy or at least price points that allow individual business units, SMBs, and proof of concept tests with low to no implementation costs and no capital expenditure (CAPEX). It is a critical difference in this economy.

This is the first article in a four part series I’ve planned about “The Long Tail” and services (SaaS, On-Demand, etc) on the Internet.

If you have read anything at all about marketing for the web in the last few years, it is hard to imagine you might not have also heard the term, “The Long Tail.” The idea has a long history with statisticians, but the term we use dates back to 2004 when Chris Anderson wrote a magazine article in Wired describing the concepts. He also wrote a best selling book on concept, which has been recently updated. But, judging from many of the articles which use the term, I don’t blame you if you’re not sure what it is all about.