SaaS Growth: Past, Present & Future

By Jennifer Hauge; Clay Boss

Past
What was once labeled as ASP and SOA as early as the 1990’s developed into SaaS and is now currently part of Cloud Computing.  Regardless of the name, this industry has grown over the last decade with future projections stronger than ever over the next 5 years.   Here is an article from The Economist in 2006, where SaaS is believed to be a drastic change for the IT industry.
While ASP fizzled, SaaS seems to have taken a greater hold in industries. The greatest advantage is better and faster technologies, application development, and a better defined need from consumers. Some continue to discredit the success of SaaS applications.  This is a valid point considering the ups and downs of the dot com boom and bust from 1995-2000. Skeptics believed it would fizzle out just like ASP did. With SaaS still going strong today, it seems to be much more than just a fad, and is projected to gain market share in the next few years.
Present
2010 was more a slow/steady year for SaaS. Cloud computing also became much more of an interest compared to previous years. Private clouds expanded (mostly for large companies) and SaaS vendors increased application offerings. Fears about security were once again quelled.  There was also a significant shift of how companies viewed on-demand applications. The paradigm change differed between industries, corporate cultures, and of course, management. 
Working in an industry that is slow to move to new technologies like barcodes and paperless systems; hopefully 2011 will be a proactive one for metals and steel in using proven and reliable SaaS solutions over on-premise systems.
Future
Beyond 2011, the future for the cloud computing market seems to only get better.  Gartner is charting SaaS and other cloud applications to expand dramatically in the next 2-5 years; for large, medium and small businesses. It is becoming more affordable for small and medium enterprises, and large companies that don’t mind relinquishing a little control benefit from SaaS too.
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, it sites that small firms using SaaS range from law firms to retailers. CRM has been a big focus for a lot of SaaS applications, and several areas are just as important to address: supply chain, sales, finance, and outside locations (to name a few).
For manufacturing, reports are looking positive.  The need to continue to streamline operations – lean inventories, increased visibility, supply chain optimization, etc. is a key driver to look into on-demand applications for ERP and Supply Chain.  
With global connectivity becoming a norm with technology in the past few years and years to come,   accessing applications via cloud computing, have a greater chance of gaining  credibility as people will be accustomed to the on-demand exposure that SaaS provides. The cloud as a whole is experiencing advancements in all aspects of connectivity, including speed and security which have been serious concerns in the past.


 

 

 

Rate this