Collaboration as a Service Gains Momentum

Human talent fuels the business model creativity and process execution that drives today's leading enterprise innovations -- the ones that every executive truly wants to emulate. That's why savvy managers will always choose to hire the best talent -- regardless of where those key people may reside.

The common obstacle, of course, is finding both productive and cost effective ways to regularly bring together a geographically distributed talent pool. Online collaboration is one approach many business leaders will consider.

The growth of globally disbursed teams demands that online collaboration tools are flexible, scalable and easy to deploy. Moreover, project-centric teams often can't predict the "when and where" they’ll need to reunite their subject matter experts for an impromptu task.

IT managers are increasingly being told to move from a rigid just-in-case technology investment model to a much more agile just-in-time methodology. So, what's fueling that new momentum?

More Haste, Less Waste
The current economic realities require business leaders to be able to move to action quickly -- it's all about increased haste, but absolutely no waste. It's a challenging environment, for sure.

Managed or hosted collaboration solutions are proven to be a perfect fit for these types of scenarios. How do you plan to incorporate these new services? Consider adding Collaboration as a Service (CaaS) to your company's internal IT service portfolio.

CaaS is a subscription based service that can provide your organization with reliable and secure on-demand collaboration solutions -- all at a predictable and affordable price.

According to a recent Nemertes Research market study, more enterprises are turning to Managed Services Providers (MSPs) to reduce implementation and operational costs of their collaboration applications.

Demand for Rich-Media Collaboration
Adoption has grown from 27% to 63% of study participants from 2006 to 2008, with management of collaboration applications -- especially rich-media services -- as a key driver for growth. For example, 33% initially utilize VoIP solutions, as demand for real-time, rich-media collaboration applications continues to grow.

New platforms have emerged for managed service providers. Cisco unveiled a new software-as-a-service (SaaS) architecture and enhancements to its SaaS-based collaborative applications.

"Adoption of SaaS and cloud services represent a growing share of finite and expensive WAN bandwidth," said Abner Germanow, director at IDC. "Until recently, SaaS and cloud services were delivered on a best effort basis that will not be good enough to meet the business criticality, performance, and video service demands facing future waves of SaaS and cloud service maturity."

Sizing Up the IT Management SaaS Market

Our prior commentary on SaaS and Managed Services: Big Service Providers Plug In does a good job pointing out how various service providers are attempting to deliver a widening array of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions and managed services.

This trend is being driven by two major forces. First, the commodization of traditional transport services. Second, the shift in customer attitudes regarding IT management.

Service providers can no longer differentiate themselves based on the quality of their transport services. As a consequence, service pricing, customer loyalty and profitability of this mainstay business continue to decline.

To compensate for this erosion of their traditional transport business, service providers are seeking to deliver a new generation of value-added services which can give them greater 'stickiness' with their customers.

It's a Win-Win Scenario
At the same time, customers are seeking to offload, or out-task, a broader assortment of IT management responsibilities so they can improve the reliability of their systems and software, reduce their operating costs, and focus their limited resources on more strategic and/or innovative corporate initiatives.

THINKstrategies uncovered the growing level of interest and adoption of IT management SaaS solutions among IT professionals in 2007 as a key finding of annual survey with Cutter Consortium (download a complimentary copy of "SaaS Penetrates the IT Department").

Forrester recently published a report entitled -- "How Big is SaaS in IT Management Software?" -- which suggests that SaaS solutions only represent 1 percent of total IT management software sales today, but will grow to 10 percent by 2013.

Given that 25 percent of IT professionals who responded to THINKstrategies and Cutter Consortium's survey a year ago said they were already using SaaS solutions to address their IT management requirements, Forrester's forecast is probably low.

Multitude of SaaS Solutions
Smart vendors, service providers and VARs are recognizing this trend and seeking to win a share of this rapidly growing market. The good news for IT professionals is that they will have plenty of SaaS solutions and suppliers to chose from.

As always, the best choice will be selecting the supplier that you trust the most to meet your particular business needs and requirements.

SaaS And Managed Services: Big Service Providers Plug In

Quick: Name the world's most successful software as a service (SaaS) companies. Most readers will likely mention Salesforce.com ... then perhaps NetSuite, two key players in on-demand CRM (customer relationship management) and accounting software, respectfully.

Salesforce.com and NetSuite certainly have momentum in their markets. But consider this: Big service providers and broadband providers like Cablevision and Verizon Business may be the best-kept secrets in both the SaaS and managed services markets.

With each passing day, I notice big service providers launching more and more SaaS and managed services offerings. Increasingly popular options include:

• Managed and hosted unified communications
• Hosted Microsoft Exchange and IBM Lotus Notes
• Managed routers, switches and network infrastructure

Increasingly, big service providers provide both the pipe (broadband) and the applications flowing through the pipe (email, groupware, CRM, enterprise resource planning, and so on).

When Big Meets Small
Still, I'm frequently skeptical when big service providers strive to offer PC-like services and support to smaller organizations.

Conventional wisdom says small businesses are best served by VARs and solutions providers -- the folks who provide on-site consulting, integration and support services. Big service providers, critics claim, don't really have their fingers on the pulse of small business.

I think that's changing. Over time we'll see hybrid business engagements surface, where service providers and VARs outsource business engagements to one another.

In some scenarios, the service providers will host customer applications. In other scenarios, the VARs will continue to build and maintain network infrastructure for customers.

In all scenarios, small and mid-size businesses will seek predictable, steady IT costs by marching toward SaaS and managed services. Similar to how voice and IP came together in the late 1990s, SaaS and managed services are now inseparable.

The IT Management Implications of SaaS Growth

THINKstrategies recently unveiled the initial findings of its fourth annual Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) customer survey, in conjunction with Cutter Consortium, which revealed that 63% of the responding organizations are using a SaaS solution -- almost double the 32% who were using SaaS solutions in 2007.

Over the past four years, we have seen tremendous growth of the SaaS market spurred along by rising frustration with the challenges of deploying traditional software products and the hassles of keeping enterprise applications up and running.

Our surveys were the first to find widespread interest and substantial adoption of SaaS in 2005.

Changing workplace requirements have led to more workers needing to access applications and corporate data remotely, which has also led many organizations to adopt web-based SaaS solutions.

The Shift Away from CAPEX
But, the most important consideration has been the financial savings generated by shifting from upfront capital investments in perpetual licenses and systems to a more flexible, 'pay-as-you-go', subscription model. This approach has become particularly attractive in today's tough economic climate.

Despite these advantages, many IT organizations were reluctant to accept SaaS, and even resisted its adoption in many cases because of concerns about the reliability, security and performance of these web-based applications.

However in 2007, THINKstrategies survey found growing acceptance of SaaS solutions by IT professionals who were not only learning that SaaS solutions could be trusted to successfully support their business units and end-users, but also discovered that a new generation of SaaS solutions were available to help them better manage their IT operations.

Business Case for Out-Tasking IT
Leveraging SaaS and a broader array of 'cloud' computing services is an extension of the same mindset which is driving many IT departments to recognize the benefits of contracting for managed services.

This 'out-tasking' strategy allows IT professionals to offload many of the day-to-day technology deployment and management responsibilities which can be performed in a routine fashion more economically by a specialized third-party, so the IT staff can finally focus their limited time and resources on more strategic initiatives or even innovative projects.

Click here to obtain the first of a series of three Executive Update reports based on the THINKstrategies/Cutter Consortium SaaS survey results.

Introduction to Managed Network Services

Many companies find it expensive to keep up with new Business Technologies -- or simply prefer to devote their limited IT or Telecom resources to the core business, rather than routine ongoing network management.

Managed network services can quickly enable your company to evolve, by giving business decision makers access to leading network technologies and management expertise -- without requiring high initial capital expenditures (CapEx), or ongoing investments in technology upgrades.

Deploying a Managed Service Solution
When a company subscribes to a managed service, a service provider manages the network equipment and applications on the customer premises according to the terms of a service-level agreement (SLA) established to meet the company's unique business needs.

Some managed services are also hosted, meaning that the service provider hosts the equipment in its facility instead of the customer's, and delivers services to company employees over the Wide Area Network (WAN) to wherever they are physically located.

For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), managed services provide enterprise-class capabilities for a predictable monthly fee -- without requiring a large, initial capital investment.

The On-Demand Pay-as-you-go Model
Companies that out-task enjoy high levels of network support and availability, enabling internal IT staff to focus on strategic activities instead of network support, and pay only for those networking services that they need.

Managed services generally include software, hardware, and other Internet Protocol (IP) networking services. The service provider's highly experienced technical experts focus exclusively on providing the network services and support that customers need to meet their business requirements.

Companies have the option to out-task some or all of their network management and monitoring tasks and retain control of the rest -- even if the equipment is physically located at the provider's site.

Key Benefits of managed network Services:

• Reduces costs, including service call fees, hardware, operations, and network transport
• Eases adoption of new technology-enabled business processes
• Increases levels of support and network availability, without additional staff
• Makes your IT and Telecom budget more stable and predictable
• Provides access to the latest technology, with limited risk
• Provides access to an enhanced technical skills base
• Makes it easier to adapt to changing business conditions
• Enables the IT manager and staff to focus on your core business
  

In upcoming posts, we will outline some typical scenarios for deploying managed network service offerings -- including simplified application diagrams that explain the basic concepts.

Overcoming the Psychological Barriers to On-Demand Services

It is time for IT and business decision-makers to get over their fears of 'out-tasking' various aspects of their daily operations to specialized service providers.

Today's turbulent economic climate, intensifying competitive landscape and changing workplace requirements demand that organizations of all sizes re-think their business technology sourcing strategies.

What I believe is still inhibiting many IT or business decision-makers from adopting Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and managed services are a few common misconceptions and interrelated fears.

Gain New Perspective, with Sharp Focus
For instance, too many IT and business decision-makers continue to resist a growing assortment of SaaS and managed services which can address their business application and IT management needs because they are concerned about losing control, sacrificing performance and/or dealing with additional security risks.

While all of these are legitimate concerns, THINKstrategies has found that they are not real issues when it comes to today's SaaS and managed service offerings.

Instead, most of these services have achieved better performance and higher security levels than many in-house application and IT operations. They also have achieved these service levels with lower upfront costs, quicker deployment cycles and less ongoing management requirements.

As a result, most SaaS and managed service users gain greater ROI on their IT/applications at a lower total cost of ownership (TCO), by focusing their efforts on overall business impact.

An Adaptable Coexistence Strategy
Many IT/business decision-makers also believe that SaaS and managed services are only appropriate for small organizations with limited financial resources or internal skills, and relatively simple functional requirements. Said another way, they think SaaS and managed services aren't sophisticated enough to address the complex needs of mid- to large-scale enterprises.

The reality is that there are a wide array of SaaS and managed service offerings which can address organizations of various sizes. Small businesses can fill voids which they couldn't afford to address with traditional applications or management products with many SaaS and managed service offerings. Mid-size and large-scale enterprises are also finding plenty of SaaS and managed services to fill unmet needs, or augment and extend the value of their existing software and systems.

The Fearless Agents of Change
Too many IT managers view SaaS and managed services as outsourcing solutions that could ultimately make them replaceable.

While this is possible, it is more likely that SaaS and managed services can help IT managers overcome the day-to-day challenges of deploying and administering software and systems, so they can refocus their time and energy on better supporting the more strategic needs of their business units and end-users.

The bottom-line is that IT managers can no longer justify doing business as usual. The sooner they put their fears of SaaS and managed services aside, the sooner they will be able to leverage these services to better serve their organizations and safeguard their positions in an uncertain world.

Managed Services Reality Check for Small Business Owners

Somewhere between the economic panic and the managed services craze their resides a simple truth: Now is the time for all small businesses to carefully consider their IT strategies for 2009.

I'm tired of reading wild statements that say managed services and Software as a Service (SaaS) are immune to the economic turmoil. It's far more accurate to say we've reached an inflection point of sorts, where small businesses need to review what they spent on IT in 2007 and 2008 to help their planning in 2009.

Traditionally, many small businesses acquired IT assets -- PCs, servers, networks, applications and other infrastructure that they ran internally. But those acquisitions required big lump-sum capital investments.

During the current economic turmoil, we're seeing a shift in the market. Smart small businesses increasingly depend on IT services.

Much in the same way that they pay flat monthly fees for broadband and cellular services, small businesses are embracing managed services to gain far more predictable -- and far more reliable -- IT options.

Look Back to Get Ahead
If you're a small business owner or manager, take a look at your 2008 and 2007 IT expenses. Be sure to underline purchases involving storage, security and application infrastructure.

Going forward, investigate how those big-ticket items could be shifted (partially or entirely) into the cloud.

Hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- of IT solutions providers now offer managed firewall and managed endpoint security services. And new cloud storage services -- such as Amazon's Simple Storage Service -- can bolster your own on-site storage area networks with key disaster recovery capabilities.

The trend certainly includes any applications you're seeking to license or "purchase." I am not suggesting that all on-premise applications will shift to the cloud. But before you build -- or buy -- your next business application, check to see if it already exists on the Web. Chances are, it does.