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SaaS Software BasicsWhat does your business need?
Presented byGreg Robin
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The Appeal of Software as a Service (SaaS)
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Categories of SaaS AppsSaaS can mean many things to many people. For purposes of this presentation, we look at three different SaaS models.
1. Single purpose SaaS
• In areas like file collaboration, projects, HR, CRM, ERP - apps tend to be singularly focused around a function
• App customization tends to be limited, except for other SaaS vendors who may have built specific integrated solutions
2. App building SaaS platforms
• Force.com, QuickBase and Zoho Creator impose no pre-configured schema that you need to build-to or work with
• These platforms provide the greatest customization capabilities but also require app development skills
3. Hybrid SaaS app/platforms
• Salesforce.com and Zoho CRM are good hybrid examples due to their extensive CRM capabilities that can be both adapted and extended, in complex ways
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Evolution of SaaS AppsP
LATF
OR
M IN
TEG
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2000 2005 2010 2015
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App Universe We Work In
App Building
CRM
eCommerce
ERP/Financial
HR
Teamwork
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4 Critical Questions You Should be Asking
•Given your business requirements, are you looking for a category app, an app platform or a hybrid?
•What are your “absolutes” vs. the nice-to-haves with regard to selecting a vendor (given requirements)?
•What do you need to integrate? Are there existing vendors who have existing solutions?
•Make sure that internal resource cost and team training are part of your cost of ownership analysis.
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What are your Business Requirements?
Does your organization suffer from?
Inconsistencies in data (multiple versions of the truth)
Mismanaged projects & costs
Inefficient customer care and support
Lack of team alignment
Accurate time tracking and billing
Would you like to enable?
Shortened and better coordinated sales cycles
Better understanding of expenditures
Easy viewing of your organization’s key performance indicators (KPIs)
Improved data and version collaboration –e.g., getting teams “on the same page”
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Vendor Selection “Best Practices”
•Criteria to consider (re: Vendor)
• Breadth & quality of features, at each license level
• Cost vs. Value
• Configure vs Customize, what is possible?
• Platform integration capabilities
• Viability of vendor business
•Criteria to consider (re: your Organization)
Budget (are you willing to pay more to get more?)
Will your Org conform to fit a solution or do you need more flexibility?
Are you transitioning from an existing system or is this a new system?
Be honest -- how technical adept is your team to own the solution?
Develop an ongoing feature roadmap for adopting the solution
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EASE
OF
USE
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OR
E D
IFFI
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LT
CONFIGURABLE($) CUSTOMIZABLE($$) CUSTOM($$$)
Vendor Selection Thoughts (cont.)
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Org Adoption “Best Practices”
•Rolling it out
• Identify roles
• Use cases
• Systems to integrate with
• Training
• Software System
• Business Systems
• Support
• Documentation (Embedded Help (in App), FAQs, videos, etc…)
•Ownership across Org
Assign an exec sponsor, a domain expert and a system owner
Incentivize ($$$/Culture) & Measure Usage
Elicit user feedback & recommendations
Utilize an ongoing feature roadmap
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About Us
Productivity Advisors is a software consultancy
that advises both small and large companies on
how to select, design and deploy web-based
apps for their businesses.
Our Goal: Collaborative Productivity. Fostering a
greater level of effectiveness in our Client’s firms
through the adoption of web-based apps.
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Discover
• Understand your business story and processes
• Review business requirements
• Understand data currently being used (systems, reports, forms)
• Is there legacy data, systems or processes to consider?
Design
• Can an existing solution be configured or customized?
• Data: fields, field types, relationships, data entry/loading and reports
• Business layer: calculations, use cases, workflows and alerts
• User base: profiles, roles and security
Develop
• Prototype
• Review with Stakeholders
• Get Feedback from User Community
• Iterate & Repeat…
• Test throughout
• Migrate legacy data
Deliver
• Stakeholder acceptance
• Train team (or trainers)
• Document
• Understand maintenance and support needs
• Drive organization adoption
Our Methodology for Delivering Solutions
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Reference Links
Greg Robin, Founder & Principal
Productivity Advisors
email: [email protected]
phone: 415.935.1776
web: http://prodadv.com
blog: http://gregrobin.com
linkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/gnrobin
youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/productivityadvisors
twitter: 4productivity