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If you were unable to attend the IDC SaaS Summit in New York on March 26, you missed some outstanding information and advice. The Summit was aimed at executives interested in learning more about the value proposition of SaaS. IDC intentionally capped the number of participants so they could have time to ask their burning questions and get focused attention. Good strategy, as hall buzz indicated participants were highly satisfied with the topic sessions, Q&As, and skill sets of presenters.

I would like to invite readers to join me at the IDC Software as a Service Summit in New York on March 26.  The conference is being held at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in the heart of Manhattan.

The intent of the conference is to …

In January I addressed the portfolio of security requirements for the SaaS environment. This post focuses exclusively on perimeter security.

In mid-February a group from UC Berkeley released a paper titled Above the Clouds: A Berkeley View of Cloud Computing that addresses the strengths and weaknesses of cloud computing.

How many times in the last quarter have you heard the phrase, we need to get back to the basics? It is almost always uttered in the context of the current economic downturn and a company's need to return to its core competencies. This begs the question: Is IT one of your company's core business competencies. I would argue that IT is purely a business enabler, not a core competency for most businesses.

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Software as a Service (SaaS) users need to pay attention to the scope of applications available from the vendors they are considering engaging. If the SaaS vendor provides precisely the applications your firm is seeking to move into the cloud environment, do not sign on with that vendor. Why? As the numerous benefits of SaaS become obvious, your firm will seek to put additional applications into the cloud. You need to plan for growth.

There are three metrics jostling for the position of most important when considering SaaS implementations: SAS 70 Type II compliance, business continuity and resiliency, and application performance. Each of these measures is of substantial importance to firms; determining which is the most important is nearly impossible.

What, exactly, does a SaaS provider look like? This quirky need of mine for clear definitions stems back to the 90s. I was writing up a network switch report when a key vendor, who was well known for its extremely fast bridges, called and said they were changing the names of the bridges to network switches and wanted to have them included in the report. I developed a red, itchy rash and a penchant for definitions that very afternoon. But I digress…

Concern about security is cited as one of the greatest hurdles to implementing SaaS. I had the opportunity to talk to a few SaaS providers regarding security concerns and would like to share what I learned from these providers.

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Phew! 2008 is over. Finally. No point in looking back at the rubble that makes up the current mess. The goal for 2009 is to figure out how to make lemonade from these lemons and ensure company growth. Think business fundamentals and fiscal prudence. This is not to suggest returning to old ways of thinking, but instead to look at new and emerging technologies to see if they offer near term value. Software as a service (SaaS) is one such technology.

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The Millennials, also known as GenY, are defined as those born between 1980 and 2000.  According to a 2007 BSG Alliance Concourse Institute research study there are approximately 70 million Millennials in the U.S. today.  For comparison, the boomer generation, those born between 1946 and 1964, measures in at 79.6 million according to the 2000 U.S. Census. There is an odd fascination with this generation, its rapid adoption of technology and how they fit into the business world.

At the web site Employee Evolution, …

Defrag 2008 was held in Denver last week.  Defrag is a social networking conference that brings together innovators, businesses and investors for a couple of days of robust dialoging on the business value of social networking tools, what is available in the market and what is coming down the pipe.  The last day of the Defrag conference did a smooth transition into the Denver-Boulder Technology MeetUp, which made for an immersive, intensive, educational experience on the state of social networking.

Defrag is a substantial conference …

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 21st Forum has drawn some high profile, powerful people.  Colorado Senator Ken Salazar did the opening keynote address on Wednesday morning.  His message of energy independence for the US, and our ability to get there quickly, was positive and compelling. Senator Salazar noted there are three driving forces behind the US's development of alternative energy: national security, environmental security and economic opportunities. This time around, alternative energy research and development, and commercialization will succeed, if only because we cannot afford to fail.

The cry for energy independence is …

We have jumped into the Alternative Energy Economy with both feet this year.  The country has been dabbling in this space for decades, but when oil hit $100 a barrel, gas at the pump exceeded $4 a gallon and diesel exceeded $5, the entire country became painfully aware of just how dependent we have become on foreign oil. The outcry from people across the country was for investment in alternative energy.  Fortunately, research has been quietly taking place in laboratories all over the country from universities, private businesses and national research facilities. The challenge we face now is bringing that intellectual property to commercialization.

The NREL (National Renewable Energy …

There are two major conferences being held in the Denver/Boulder area regarding organic, green, entrepreneurship and venture capitalists seeking to support environmentally sensitive firms. You can find information on them here http://www.naturallyboulderproducts.com/days/program-and-events.html and here www.cleanenergyforum.com .  Expect to see a lot of content from me this week on both of these events.  With over 500 investors from around the world, and over $1.7 billion invested in enviro-centric companies through just one of these channels in the past five years, there is a lot to discuss.  

Within turmoil is opportunity.  As …

Virtual business processes is a leading tenet of business in the 21st century. Virtual business processes leverage the digital infrastructure, support communication and collaboration around the globe, and provides a solution to geographically dispersed teams. The virtual business model provides a sound solution to both strategic and tactical business planning. With all these great benefits, why is management so reluctant to implement virtual business processes?  More importantly, how can you get the executive team to change their thinking on virtualization?

Since the development of scientific …

Invention, creativity, ingenuity, risk and opportunism have always thrived during times of strife and crisis. It is safe to say that the wild financial market fluctuations over the past weeks define strife and crisis. How does a company overcome the hurdles it is facing in the near term as well as put a solid foundation in place for the long run? In a word, virtualize.

Virtual business processes allow a …

Linking social networking (SN) to unified communications (UC) has generated some interesting conversations.  Some of my points have been validated and others refuted.  It has been a learning experience worth sharing.

I had the opportunity to speak with …

Businesses regularly take on projects because someone in the firm thinks it is a good idea. I’m confident many of you have managers who have walked into your office or given you a call to say, "We need to do XYZ." I know this happens because it happened to me way too often when I was working in the telecom industry. There is no discussion or even a hint of a thread of connectivity as to how this new initiative fits into the larger corporate e-Business strategy. The worst part is that you know they read about the idea in some business journal and bought into the example case study referenced in the article.

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