SaaS Business Models
For those trying to understand SaaS or developing a SaaS business
model there are a number of options to consider, common to all will
be:
- Software
- Secure, managed hosting with internet based access
- Route to market
- Tiered support, 1st 2nd 3rd line
- Billing
There are a number of ways to achieve this
DIY
Some software vendors and it tends to be the larger ones, go for
the DIY options. This means they develop the software and a
platform for it to operate on. They host the application in their
own data centre and manage the marketing, support, on boarding
process and billing themselves. A very good example of this is the
successful Salesforce.com.
Hosting Partnership
This is the traditional model for established software vendors
who often choose this style of model.
They
still control most aspects of the service delivery managing the
application and customer experience themselves, dealing with on
boarding and support billing.
They do however, arrange server hosting with an appropriate
provider., Quite clearly the software vendor will use his own
established routes to market to sell the service.
Service Provider Partnership
This is a fast growing business model and widely seen as the
future model for mainstream software delivery. This model
requires a true partnership between Software vendor and
Partner.
In this model the Partners work together to deliver a solution.
The software vendor will ensure that the application is optimised
for the Service Providers SaaS platform and the Service Provider
will provide a platform that not only delivers the application but
provides for automated sign up and customer management, billing and
customer management. The Service Provider may or may not deliver
1st and 2nd line support but the software vendor will always
deliver 3rd line support. This model leverages the skill sets of
each provider in the value chain and the delivery model.
Service providers are busy building SaaS enabled scalable
platforms. The routes to market in this case may be twofold, the
software companies own established marketing machine, and in
addition the Service Providers existing customer base or
Channel.
Channel Partnership
The fourth model is much closer to the
traditional channel model where an application is delivered through
a partner and the partner takes full responsibility for the
provision, management, support and billing for the application and
even utilise his own Channel. The partner will generally have an
established customer pipeline to feed the new service
into.
In Partnership With
