Comments on: What Do SaaS Companies Have to Prepare for 2009?

By: How your business can save money - The Blog Planet

How your business can save money - The Blog Planet — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:35:34 +0000

[...] What Do SaaS Companies Have to Prepare for 2009? [...]

By: Ben Yoskovitz

Ben Yoskovitz — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:38:29 +0000

David – SaaS is commonly recognized as a way of saving money, as well as spreading the costs of software / IT over time more effectively. Generally I think SaaS can save companies money. I also think they can buy simpler, “smaller” products via a SaaS model and worry less about ultra-long sales cycles and bloat-ware.

By: David Rowley

David Rowley — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 23:34:05 +0000

I know of some companies who are looking at SaaS as a way to cut internal costs by reducing internal system administration and focus on their core business compentencies. In the case of NetSuite, the ERP offering is very appealing ot companies using an enterprise ERP system which may be too big and complex for them. Moving to NetSuite still gives them an integrated system more appropriate for their budget and company needs.

By: Ben Yoskovitz

Ben Yoskovitz — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:11:23 +0000

@Mike: I think the growth of SaaS is inevitable, although it won’t be as robust in 2009 with the recession. But with powerhouses like Amazon behind cloud computing, you can’t really get away from the overall SaaS model at this point in time.

When I started in SaaS – around 1998/1999 – companies were afraid of a lot of things – security, stability, paying monthly – but most of those fears/concerns are gone.

By: Mike Johnston

Mike Johnston — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:54:11 +0000

I would tend to agree with Ken. Saas is something I see growing in 2009 but perhaps we’ll see something different this year.

By: Ben Yoskovitz

Ben Yoskovitz — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:09:31 +0000

@Ken: Thanks for the comment. I think it’s time to focus on cash flow and profitability, although if you’re raising $$ then valuation is key. And the reality is that you’ll suffer on valuation when raising money, there’s no two ways about.

What I’ve heard is that flat is the new up, and down is the new flat. So if you get a flat valuation from your previous round that’s considered a huge win. If you get funded at a lower valuation that’s still considered a win.

By: Ken Krogue

Ken Krogue — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:17:51 +0000

We just met with an analyst from Gartner who pointed out that Saas is one of about 6 key trends that are stronger than ever, even with the economy. We have had 3 record months in a row as people are starting to sell remotely more than ever. We are finding an immediate shift from worrying about valuations to cash flow and profitability, both strengths with Saas.

By: Ferienwohnung Leutasch

Ferienwohnung Leutasch — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 05:46:36 +0000

I’m excited in the year of 2009 wondering what changes will happen..

By: SaaS Companies & 2009 | SAASBurst - Daily bursts on the exploding Software As A Service Industry

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:28:54 +0000

[...] Yoskovitz has summed this up pretty nicely here. Due to the market conditions and the slowdown of the U.S. economy it will no doubt be a tough [...]

By: Rick

Rick — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:45:55 +0000

I’m happy I’m not in the software business, because you are correct, times are going to become tough for those firms. Inevitably many of them will die, but that will just make it easier for the others to survive.