steve crawford

sv

vp mktg

As an industry I believe we're better served by not using the 'SaaS' label for selling services, but rather focusing on the capabilities. Network-delivered services is not a new concept, and treating it as one implies risk for businesses who are considering adopting SaaS solutions. There are many examples of how businesses are using services vs. an on-premise solution:

* Telephony (a classic 'SaaS' application) -- no business would ever consider building out their own dedicated phone network.
* Email couldn't happen without a centralized 'service'.
* Search, online advertising -- all are 'SaaS' apps.
* Web conferencing vs. in-person presentations.
* In the cloud security, such as Postini and many others
* Electricity delivered as a utility vs. generated on-premise

When you brewed your coffee and toasted your bread this morning, you probably weren't thinking about using EaaS (electricity as a service)...