This is a guest post from Mark Dunne, CTO of 2SaaS. Mark is a co-founder of TrustTheCloud.org – an initiative to remove mystique and bridge gaps between cloud consumer and vendor.  TrustTheCloud.org will be providing webinars and interviews with industry experts in the field of cloud computing and SaaS.

I think it would be a big mistake not to embrace the cloud.

The chips are in from the heavyweight vendors, so cloud technology is here to stay.  In the midst of all of the financial reporting and predictions available today which predicts strong growth in cloud/SaaS to 2014 and beyond, if you are a software vendor it would be a good idea to implement your SaaS (Software as a Service) strategy sooner rather than later

So the message is that you ‘Sassify’ your software and you can reach new customers worldwide? Maybe.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ishmaelo/252311088/

This ‘can do’ attitude is great and I for one love it; however there are risks. Simply put, more middle management can sign off SaaS solutions than they could ever have signed off software projects in the past.  For some of us we refer to this as slipping under the radar.  It’s a wonderful middle management feat of corporate protocol that all middle managers enjoy.

But, now is the time to be careful.  Corporate strategy and governance always catches up with what’s beneath the radar in the end.  Sometimes a good old retrofit of corporate protocol is enough to massage the new systems into place, but not with SaaS, not any more.

Data Security is now on the tips of tongues of senior management due to incredible and very well-publicised breaches in recent months.  The wheels are set in motion for large corporates to review data security from top to bottom, particularly vendors.  Hence the ‘under the radar’ solutions become under scrutiny like never before.  Roadblocks are inevitably raised and in a lot of cases the wheels come off middle management signed off solutions just before pen is put to paper.  This will come to a head, and unless a software solution ticks required boxes it will be left out in the cold for good.  It is more difficult to retrofit data security into a SaaS offering than it is to start off with data security always in mind.

2012 is the time to start off a new year on a clean slate and ensure all new projects begin with Data Security in mind.  If the preparation starts now, then a lot can be achieved, and 2012 can be your year of Data Security. 

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The global financial crisis and the slow road to recovery have challenged Irish executives to re-think their core business strategy. Cost cutting initiatives can only do so much. The next step is to direct resources strategically in order to achieve business growth and prosperity.

Who better to talk you through it than Robert Kaplan, inventor of the Balanced Scorecard and Activity Based Costing and the world’s leading expert on cost and performance management?

StaffBalance, in association with Bord Gais,  invites Professor Robert Kaplan to Dublin on 19^th October 2010. Professor Kaplan is the inventor of the Balanced Business Scorecard and Time-Driven Activity Based Costing, to address Senior Executives in Ireland. Professor Kaplan will share his methods, insights and case studies on the subject of rebuilding a business in a post-recession environment.

(more…)

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Enterprise Ireland hosted SaaS workshop on Friday, 26th March 2010 in Eastpoint Business Park, for 20 clients of the HPSU Financial & Enterprise Software department. Fergus Gloster, a founding Director of salesforce.com in Europe and a key executive in the creation of salesforce.com’s success in Europe, delivered the content and provided his insight into building a successful SaaS busines. The topics covered in the first half of the seminar included SaaS Business Principles & Challenges, Financial Planning for SaaS, Marketing and Sales, Alliances, Attrition & Renewals.

After lunch, three of the seminar participants presented case studies of their company’s approach to the SaaS model, including the challenges they are facing as small Irish start-ups in the SaaS world. Many thanks to the 3 willing participants – Paul Birkett, Billfaster.com; Edward Grant, MX Sweep; and Ger Hartnett, Goshido!

Overall there was some very positive feedback from the participants about the value of the event for their businesses. Given the seminar’s success, it may be held again should demand call for it.

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