The relentless change brought to us by the consistent doubling of computing power that Moore’s Law describes continues and is now likely to change at least some SaaS applications in the near term.  What do I mean? Consider – we now have a very competitive mobile application market and thanks to Google Chrome and now Apple Safari, it has crossed to the desktop on browsers.

Meet the New Paradigm

The event that brought this to mind was the announcements of the release of Safari 5.o.  Leaving out the typical “improved performance” claims – two things were apparent – it is now a platform and it is designed for use in a cross-platform, mobile environment. On the platform side, Safari has joined Chrome in providing an extension system that allows developers to in effect, build secure and stable, rich clients into the browser. We’ve seen this for a while in the form of the “app stores” that are proliferating for mobile devices like smart phones and the “iPad” category (however you define it).  On the mobile, cross-platform aspect, the browser is now tuned for mobile users.  It is very noticeable if you try the new Reader function of Safari. It is quite usable on a desktop or laptop, but it really shines in the limited real estate of mobile devices. Multiple page articles merge seamlessly into one. Space wasting banners, sidebars and menus disappear. The browser becomes a credible, focused article reader for all devices.

What does this mean for SaaS? Take this evolving “browser as a platform” trend together with the announcement of iOS 4 (the artist formally known as the iPhone OS) and the growth of the Google Android and Chrome OS and you have a quickly changing landscape of operating systems tuned for a rich mobile environment and a browser-centric application implementation system. These advancements mean the expansion and adoption of HTML 5.0 is moving even faster than many of us thought. They will make the often tricky environment of JavaScript and Ajax less of an issue and the user experience of properly-tuned SaaS applications much more fluid and “desktop like.”  It means that locally-installed, OS dependent applications are becoming ever less relevant and cross-platform, network-delivered services are becoming increasingly rich and useful.

Frankly, as interesting as this news is, it also points out that SaaS is a very fluid environment. Keeping ahead of it is increasingly difficult. Knowing how to manage a SaaS product and chart a plan to navigate development is critical. Knowing what you need to support scalable SaaS operations and what you should embed in the application is critical. Understanding your user environment and what is expected in your market is critical. The list goes on and there has to be a way to understand the landscape and to make the choices easier. And the point of this article is – there is – it is SaaS University.

As a company, Scio has stayed involved with SaaS University because it answers the need our clients and the SaaS community has to have current knowledge about our industry and important issues. Because Softletter produces regional events quarterly, you can plan to attend when and where it makes sense and take advantage of the evolving content as you need to. The tracks and workshops are well attended, but generally sized so the sessions can be interactive and remain relevant. If you’ve been to the larger, vendor-led conferences – SaaS University offers content that is focused on providing valuable insight to SaaS entrepenuers.

The next SaaS University event is in Washington DC, July 20-22, 2010. There is a full two-day agenda of sessions in two tracks covering a wide range of subjects and a third day that offers a choice of four in-depth workshops. On that point in particular, I want to highlight our own workshop, Charting Your Course to SaaS.

Charting Your Course to SaaS – SaaS University, Washington DC, May 22

This is the third time we’ve offered this comprehensive workshop on SaaS and it continues to evolve as we respond to the needs of our participants. Following our joint workshop with Jim Geisman of Software Pricing Partners, we’ve continued to tighten the content and for SaaS University, will offer a more interactive format for this workshop, especially during the afternoon. The aim is to keep it small enough to allow everyone a chance to move the discussion toward the issues that interest them most.  It remains however, the only workshop that covers the business, operational and development issues that are critical to success in SaaS.

Companies that can benefit by attending this workshop:

• A new venture or as an ISV with on-premise products considering developing a SaaS offering
• A service company with significant vertical expertise than could be delivered and monetized in a SaaS model.
• An existing SaaS provider who made choices opportunistically that now constrain growth and cash flow.
• A SaaS entrepreneur with limited funding that needs to achieve positive cash flow early with products that evolve with the market.

Company challenges this workshop can help overcome:

• Building out a suite of products but are unsure of the strategies, metrics, and operational models needed to grow.
• Developing a framework for sorting out technical and strategic choices required to move to the SaaS business model.
• Facing significant operational problems including efficiency while keeping churn under control in an existing SaaS product.
• Developing a product roadmap and unsure of what can be accomplished and timeframes

Topics to be Covered:

• How is a SaaS Product and Business Different?
• Reference Framework for Creating Your Roadmap
• Making Strategic Development Choices
• Operating A SaaS Business by the Metrics
• 10 Ways to Fail at SaaS
• Applying Lessons Learned to Your Issues

Who Should Attend?

This workshop and seminar is important for anyone considering a SaaS product, in the process of developing a product or offering a product that hasn’t reached its potential, including: Entrepreneurs, CXO’s, product managers and key executives in startups, vendors moving to SaaS or existing SaaS companies.

About Your “Professor”

Mike Dunham, Vice President, Service Engineering for Scio Consulting, has over 25 years background in the development and introduction of new technology working with startups, government and the largest enterprise software companies. He has worked with Scio for five years, regularly authors articles on SaaS and the software industry and hosts a series of podcasts on SaaS best practices. Mike leads Scio’s professional services helping companies develop and bring to market new SaaS offerings.

The workshop costs $695, but you can get an Early Bird Price of $495 when you combine it with your SaaS University registration - total package price of $1290. As a way to bring together a great amount of information in a short period of time, the combined package is a great opportunity. As we get closer to the event, I’ll expand on the agenda, but this is a great time to start planning and get your team together to attend SaaS University in Washington, DC!  I hope to see you there…

Our workshop with Software Pricing Partners following the SaaS Summit: All About the Cloud is now finalized! Seating is limited so please check the details below and sign up NOW:

SaaS Offerings: How to Develop, Price, Operate, and Succeed

• One Day SaaS Executive Workshop Covering Technical and Business Topics
• May 13, 2010 at the Donatello Hotel (near Union Square) San Francisco

Executives responsible for succeeding in the SaaS market need to make a series of critical choices in developing, packaging and selling their offerings. This one-day workshop provides the insights and tools needed to make the right choices.

Many of the challenges SaaS companies face can be met by balancing and integrating technical considerations with the business aspects of SaaS. Companies that can do this can bring their products to market rapidly and become cash-flow positive quickly.

This workshop is the first to integrate pricing and business models with development and deployment. The workshop will be held on May 13th, the day after the OpSource and SIIA event SaaS Summit: All About the Cloud at the Westin St Francis Hotel on Union Square in San Francisco. The workshop venue is conveniently located one half-block from the St Francis, at the Donatello Hotel on Post Street.

Which companies can benefit by attending this workshop:

• A new venture or as an ISV with on-premise products considering developing a SaaS offering
• A service company with significant vertical expertise than could be delivered and monetized in a SaaS model.
• An existing SaaS provider who made choices opportunistically that now constrain growth and cash flow.
• A SaaS entrepreneur with limited funding that needs to achieve positive cash flow early with products that evolve with the market.

Company challenges this workshop can help overcome:

• Building out a suite of products but are unsure of the pricing and operational models needed to grow.
• Developing a framework for sorting out technical and strategic choices required to move to the SaaS business model.
• Facing significant operational problems including efficiency while keeping churn under control in an existing SaaS product.
• Ensuring the pricing model, development framework and operational plan will work in complex, highly competitive markets.

Topics to be covered:

• What Makes the SaaS Model Different and Difficult?
• Making Development Choices Strategically
• How to Choose an Effective Pricing Metric
• Creating a Lean Product Development Roadmap
• Using Packaging and Licensing to Increase Success
• Finding the Right Price Levels and Discounts
• Operating a SaaS Business
• Auditing Your Plans with a SaaS Reference Framework

Because of the value of this workshop, the importance of the SIIA/OpSource conference for SaaS providers and the convenience of the venue, this is an excellent opportunity to “put it all together.” The workshop content makes it well suited to a mixed group of business and technical members of your team because it joins the issues of both sides into a single view.

Per Person Pricing

Group Promo Codes

Three or more members of the same team:

• On or before May 3rd – 57KA5G
• After May 3rd – 7GNGBH

All attendees will receive copies of the workshop materials. The workshop fee also includes a “working lunch” and refreshments during the day.

Secure Registration with Acteva.

Hotel

The Donatello Hotel has a limited number of rooms available for workshop attendees at $139 during the period of May 9-14. This is an excellent opportunity to save with a very convenient location if you are also attending SaaS Summit/All About the Cloud Event.

• To receive this discounted rate, you must the contact the hotel directly at 415-441-7100 – and ask for In-House Sales and  the “SCIO Pricing” discount.

About the Speakers

Michael Dunham, VP of Service Engineering – Scio Consulting
Mike Dunham has more than 20 years of hands-on experience helping major corporations and government agencies succeed in an increasingly technical environment. As Scio’s principal consultant, Dunham provides clients insight into trends that affect business and technology planning so the processes Scio uses can bring clients’ ideas to life. As the VP of Service Engineering, Michael defines Scio’s service products and operational processes. A native of Sacramento, CA, he holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of California at Davis.

Jim Geisman, Principal and Founder – Software Pricing Partners
Jim is an acknowledged expert in software pricing and, since founding the firm in 1982, has helped several hundred companies develop effective pricing models and strategies. His consulting spans established and emerging software companies delivering B2B solution via desktop, enterprise-class and, more recently Software-as-a-Service / on demand software. Jim has been a board member or advisor to several early stage technology companies. He holds degrees in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

A quick introduction on our podcast:

SaaS is not a “one-size-fits-all” business. There are many options now for platforms and services you can use and the number is increasing every day. A lot of the information available is laden with marketing hype. How do you make the right decisions?

We’ve been helping companies transition to SaaS as startups and from traditional licensed software for several years and we’ve build up a practice we use repeatedly to navigate the choices. We’re bringing our practice to the Dallas SaaS University event as a workshop to help SaaS executives and entrepreneurs make the right choices for their business. We’re passionate about helping companies succeed in SaaS and we’d like to pass some of our knowledge on to you.

You can take this workshop combined with your signup to the University event or separately, but I encourage you to take advantage of the combined pricing that is available. This is not a “technical” workshop – we will be covering how the technical and business decisions SaaS requires impact your business and product strategy. We’ll be using interactive exercises to help you put the concepts into your context and build something you can take back to your team. It is a full day with a catered lunch and will be a limited group so you will have plenty of opportunity to ask questions and be involved.

UpDate! – Use Discount Code: SCIO100

Here’s the outline:

Charting Your Course to SaaS

Making the Right Decisions for Your SaaS Product

Overview – How is a SaaS Product and Business “Different”?

• Leaving 30 years of industry history behind
• Transitioning to a service-led model
• 10 ways to fail

Your Service is Different

• What does making the right choices mean?
• Understanding your market, product strategy, roadmap, supporting technologies, and skills needed.
• Knowing flexibility is key in SaaS

Sell the Right Product

• Map your core product and customer assumptions
• Consider test marketing plans
• Developing a go-to-market feature set

Make Strategic Development Choices

• Selecting services and platforms
• Selecting a technical architecture
• Making development and deployment choices

Operating a SaaS Business

• Understanding service-led business requirements
• Leveraging operational metrics
• Understanding end-user interaction in SaaS and product management

Who Should Attend?

This workshop and seminar is important for anyone considering a SaaS product, in the process of developing a product or offering a product that hasn’t reached its potential, including: Entrepreneurs, CXO’s, product managers and key executives in startups, vendors moving to SaaS or existing SaaS companies.

About Your “Professors”
Luis Aburto, CEO of Scio Consulting, is a veteran of international technology and engineering consulting for corporate and government clients in the U.S. and Latin America. Mr. Aburto is the founder of Scio Consulting, and in 2006 was responsible for focusing the direction of the company on SaaS enablement services. Luis has worked with a multitude of software companies of all sizes and across many industries, helping them make the transition to SaaS.

Mike Dunham, Principal Consultant of Scio Consulting, has over 25 years background in the development and introduction of new technology working with startups, government and the largest enterprise software companies. He has worked with Scio for five years, regularly authors articles on SaaS and the software industry and hosts a series of podcasts on SaaS best practices. Mike leads Scio’s professional services helping companies develop and bring to market new SaaS offerings.

As I mentioned – there are several ways you can join us in this workshop and I very happy we have the opportunity to bring it to SaaS University. I’m looking forward to meeting many of my friends at SaaS University for the event. If you would like to know more about what we’re going to be doing or some help building the case so you can get company support to go, just let me know. See you there!

I came across a good paper by Joel York of Chaotic Flow over the weekend that started a flow of thoughts about ISVs. The article is titled, “The Top Ten Do’s and Don’ts of SaaS” and it made me wonder – where can someone considering developing a SaaS application go for the “ins and outs” of the field? It is fairly difficult to do without sifting through a lot of vendor-led material that, while good, is clearly biased or paying out some cash to go to a series of conferences – where again, you will surf through a wealth of vendor-led discussions regardless of the venue.

After some looking – I determined it isn’t all that easy. There are some good resources, but a simple Google search isn’t going to yield a lot of good resources without some digging. Outside of the listings on our blogroll (right sidebar of the index page), we (the Scio Team) are planning to develop some over a period of time, but for now I would like this post to be a starting point for a list of resources that we can build on to. Eventually it will migrate over to our new “knowledge center” but for now, we’ll add resources as we run across them (or you, our readers suggest them) to this post.

Key: NC= Free = No cost resource, R=Registration Required, $=Costs for attending or using

Conferences

• Saas University ($ – however you can join the Softletter SaaS University site by registration for free. Select the Welcome to SaaS U tab for information)
• SaaSCon ($) Computerworld’s Annual Industry Event
• SIIA (Software Information Industry Association) Events
• OpSource SaaS Summit ($ – Also provides links to upcoming webinars which are free for registration)
• IDC Software as a Service Summit – ($) Market research and field case studies from leading ISVs
• Cloud Slam ’09 Cloud Computing Virtual Conference (R, $ – but the price is low)
• Agile 2009 Conference - If you’re not using Agile principles in your development and product management practices – you probably should be. Of special interest is the Agile Product Management track
• Glue Conference - “The web is the platform” – explores the integration issues we’re facing as we move to web apps. ($)
• Upcoming Cloud Computing-Related Events – Giva Perry’s list (updated regularly).

Resources on the Web

• Wikipedia’s definition of SaaS, along with general facts about the area and references. (Free)
• SIIA, (Software Information Industry Association) – Software as a Service Resources. A wide ranging archive of webcasts and papers from the last four years from this association. (Some require membership, some free) – a good example you will find widely copied on the web: “Software as A Service: A Comprehensive Look at the Total Cost of Ownership if Software Applications“
• OpSource – Resources (Free). From their position as a leading SaaS hosting provider, this resource center remains one of the best available.
• SaaS resource listings from O’Reilly – (Mostly Free – some conferences are listed as well) The well-known industry resource has a lot to offer, both technical and business-led perspectives.
• IBM SaaS Resources – IBM is a vendor of managed hosting in the SaaS space and has offerings to facilitate ISVs moving to SaaS. This link leads to a number of resources (whitepapers, podcasts and webcasts) prepared for their community that are worth review.
• THINKstrategies Publications, Columns, Webcasts and Quotes – Research from one of the leading consultancies in the On-Demand space. (Free – some may require registration with vendors)
• SaaS Showplace – also from THINKstrategies
• Managed Services Showplace® – THINKstrategies MSP Directory
• SoftLetter – from Rick Chapman of SaaS University ($) Respected source for current data from inside the SaaS industry. (Softgram newsletter is free for registration)
• Chaotic Flow’s five-part series, “Transform your SaaS into a Web 2.0 Business” (Free)
• SaaS Scorecard from Joel York of Chaotic Flow. Also see – SaaS Model Economics and SaaS Success – Top Ten Dos and Don’ts (Free)
• IP Application’s Resource Center (R) – good resource and their blog is worth some time as well.
• Saugatuck Technology’s Research Library - (R & $ – Market research papers, some that are free with registration, some for a fee)
• Resource List from the Cloud Computing Group on LinkedIn – Cloud Computing Blogs & Resources
• Innovation Games – A very smart tool for Agile development and Agile development is key for SaaS products.
• Body of Work: Community and Social Network Research – Jeremiah Owyang of Forrester Research on Social Media. This is a key area all Internet-based businesses need to include in their business plans.

Alltop – Alltop is blog and news aggregator that has several groupings of sources of interest to ISV’s and start-ups in the On-Demand world.

• Virtualization
• Rich Internet Apps
• Cloud Computing (Includes SaaS)
• Project Management
• Enterprise (Includes SaaS and a broad range of “enterprise level” subjects)
• Product Management
• Startups
• Small to Medium Business (SMB)