Robert Desisto

A member of the Gartner Blog Network

Entries Categorized as 'SaaS'


SaaS Enterprise License Agreements Are Not New, Buyer Beware

by Robert Desisto  |  September 8, 2011  |  Comments Off

Spurned on by recent press hype, I have been inundated with calls from clients about a supposedly new concept called SaaS Enterprise License Agreements. Despite claims made by some vendors this is not a new concept, even for vendors who are making claims that it is new have been offering it for years. Sometimes vendors [...]

Comments Off

Category: Cloud CRM SaaS Software as a Service Vendor Contracts     Tags: , , , , , , ,

Evaluating a Vendor’s SaaS Delivery

by Robert Desisto  |  August 18, 2011  |  Comments Off

I just published research on how to measure a vendor’s SaaS delivery capability. It covers topics ranging from a vendor’s operational management capabilities to measuring the the strength of a vendor’s service level agreement. No matter what SaaS application your considering (e.g., email, CRM, ERP, etc) this research note How to Evaluate A Vendor’s SaaS [...]

Comments Off

Category: Cloud CRM ERP SaaS salesforce automation Software as a Service     Tags: , ,

Check Out Gartner 2011 SaaS Research Agenda

by Robert Desisto  |  March 25, 2011  |  Comments Off

We just published the SaaS Research Agenda key issues for 2011. Our focus is to not only help companies avoid pitfalls associated with cloud computing but provide best practices to gain optimal value. Check it out on Gartner.com.

Comments Off

Category: Cloud SaaS Software as a Service     Tags:

SAP Offers Further Details on New CRM SaaS Offering

by Robert Desisto  |  March 7, 2011  |  4 Comments

On 1 March 2011, SAP previewed its updated Sales OnDemand solution at CeBIT 2011 in Hanover, Germany. Neither pricing nor an official release date has been determined, but the product will be available for early customer involvement in April 2011. The new offering reflects a trend toward social technology in CRM applications with a people-centric [...]

4 Comments »

Category: Applications Cloud CRM ERP SaaS Software as a Service     Tags: , , ,

What is all the chatter about Salesforce.com’s Chatter?

by Robert Desisto  |  March 4, 2011  |  1 Comment

Salesforce.com is taking a different approach to social technology by embedding capabilities directly into the context of the application. Other vendors incorporate collaboration items like instant messaging or content sharing, but not to the extent of salesforce.com. Salesforce.com attempts to use principles similar to those of Facebook for CRM applications, and sees Facebook as having [...]

1 Comment »

Category: Cloud CRM Customer Service SaaS Software as a Service     Tags: , , , ,

Microsoft Ups Ante in CRM SaaS Game

by Robert Desisto  |  March 3, 2011  |  3 Comments

Microsoft is focusing on market penetration with the new release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, which offers 41 languages, worldwide availability and a low price for its CRM software-as-a-service offering. Check out my recently published research note on Gartner.com, Microsoft Makes an Aggressive Move Into CRM SaaS. It provides drill down analysis of strengths and [...]

3 Comments »

Category: Cloud CRM SaaS Software as a Service     Tags:

SaaS Vendors: “We don’t need to provide you an SLA because we are reliable”

by Robert Desisto  |  February 16, 2011  |  3 Comments

The latest SaaS vendor pitch on why they don’t need a service level agreement (SLA) is they are so proven they don’t have to offer one. Huh? The question to ask is if the vendor is so reliable then the vendor should have no issue contractually committing to that reliability to its customers. We also [...]

3 Comments »

Category: Cloud SaaS Software as a Service Vendor Contracts     Tags:

SaaS Sales Reps: “The Security and Exchange Commission made me do it”

by Robert Desisto  |  February 8, 2011  |  1 Comment

The latest tactic SaaS sales reps are using to justify contract renewal increases is blaming the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). SaaS vendors are dependent on growing contract value to show revenue growth. Vendors can grow contract value by raising prices or adding users. The problem is what if a customer needs to downsize their [...]

1 Comment »

Category: Cloud SaaS Software as a Service     Tags:

The Death of IT Governance Because of SaaS is Greatly Exaggerated

by Robert Desisto  |  August 23, 2010  |  1 Comment

One of the attractive elements of SaaS for the business user is liberation from the IT organization. No longer would business users have to get “in line” for key functionality, or new upgrades. Business departments such as sales operations now control their own destiny. The problem is at some point the business department will need [...]

1 Comment »

Category: Cloud SaaS Software as a Service     Tags:

Avoiding Expensive SaaS Contracts

by Robert Desisto  |  February 12, 2010  |  2 Comments

I have seen wide variations in SaaS contract pricing (30% to 40%) from customers with similar user subscription numbers, application needs and term lengths. There is always the potential to have SaaS price variances based on geographic location, SaaS vendor account executive selling skills or contract timing in a vendor’s fiscal year. However, there are [...]

2 Comments »

Category: Cloud SaaS Software as a Service     Tags: ,