The software industry is about to change, the stage is set and corporations will have access to better and more innovative practices, like they have never seen before. All without investing a dime.
Are you confused? I spent the last year trying to figure it out. Sorting out words like SaaS (Software as a Service), and now PaaS (Platform as a Service), from CRM (Customer Relationship Management), Web 2.0 (Microsoft’s strategy to delivery apps like Word, Excel over the net), On-Demand, (pay for it when you use it), Cloud Computing (what are they thinking when they came up with this term? The Cloud is infrastructure like storage, computing power, and all the stuff you need to run SaaS.)
Trying to sort out who is playing in what arena changes daily, but what is fundamentally true is that computing is about to change forever, and corporations better be ready to shed their over-staffed computing departments. Following the credit melt down in 2008, corporations won't be able to build their business on margin. The $100 million annual computing and IT budgets are gone and leverage is going to have to happen differently now, and not through the credit markets.
To gain that accelerated edge in the market, leverage will come from grabbing solutions as you need them to march into a specific market and pay for only what you use. Global best practices will be online for anyone to use and exploit. The days of carrying hundreds of staff for the eventuality of market execution are over. The days of IT running the corporation and the bottleneck for everything, are over.
This revolution provides scale and leverage without the debt and margin from the 1980-2008 that have killed corporate America.
Every major technology company is racing for this market now, from Microsoft to Google, from Oracle to SAP, even IBM and HP.
In 2009 you will see the emergence of companies that take advantage of this trend. We won’t have a Dot.Com boom on our hands, but over the next few years, many companies will be created and significant returns will be realized by investors and the customers that use these systems.
Software Predictions in 2009
Web 2.0 Software Throughout Enterprises Delivered On Demand
Trend Themes
1. Software as a Service (saas) - Opportunity for companies to provide software solutions on-demand, saving corporations from investing in expensive in-house computing departments.
2. Platform as a Service (paas) - The rise of platforms that allow businesses to develop, run, and manage applications without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure, offering cost and time savings.
3. Cloud Computing - The shift towards utilizing cloud infrastructure for storage, computing power, and software deployment, enabling businesses to access scalable and efficient solutions without heavy upfront investments.
Industry Implications
1. Information Technology - Opportunity for IT companies to offer SaaS and PaaS solutions, revolutionizing the way corporations manage their computing needs.
2. Software Development - Opportunity for software development companies to specialize in creating cloud-based solutions that cater to the growing demand for on-demand and scalable software services.
3. Investment and Finance - Opportunity for investors to capitalize on the emergence of companies that leverage SaaS, PaaS, and cloud computing, leading to significant returns in the technology sector.