HfS: The Silver Lining in Cloud Applications Services Research

So it’s finally happening. Enterprises are using SaaS applications to run important processes, such as CRM, HR and even Finance. Moreover, some even have an enterprise cloud strategy that requires departments to consider cloud options alongside on premise solutions, as part of process transformation projects.  

Until recently, enterprises dabbled in SaaS applications to support specific, isolated needs. Did you hear about the Marketing Manager who purchased Salesforce.com on his credit card without any recourse to the IT department? We did unfortunately. Salesforce.com is one of the most established SaaS applications in the market, but initial deployments were seldom aligned to an enterprise-wide CRM strategy. Second waves of Salesforce.com implementations have been more strategic. Workday and SuccessFactors implementations have also taken off in the past few years as enterprises realize the importance of having a modern HR department running programmes to hire, motivate and retain the best talent.  Workday’s Financial Management product is also increasing in popularity, with some enterprises deploying this before the HCM module.

But SaaS adoption brings with it many differences from the on premise world. Enterprises need to consider the organizational change management implications for one. Engagement models with service providers are also changing. The service providers, for their part, need to understand the different types of services required to effectively support SaaS applications. Some have invested early to be prepared. But for others, this all seems to have crept up on them rather quickly. The same might be said for research and advice for service providers and buyers alike in the SaaS services market.

Luckily, HfS has been tracking this market for some time and produced a wealth of information in just this past year to help both parties. This includes three Blueprint reports:

• HfS Blueprint Report: Workday Services 2015.
  • See: The industry’s first Workday services blueprint: A new breed of As-a-Service providers has disrupted HR delivery forever
• HfS Blueprint Report: Salesforce Services 2016.
  • See: Accenture, Deloitte, Capgemini and Bluewolf lead the industry’s first Salesforce Services Blueprint
• HfS Blueprint Report: SuccessFactors Services 2016.
  • See: Accenture, IBM, NGA and NTT Data lead in SuccessFactors services

Clients with the necessary subscriptions are lucky enough to have access to all the detailed service provider profiles in these. But we have also published several Points of View and Soundbite notes that are FREE to anyone who cares to visit the site! These include:

• Make Your SaaS Partnerships More Strategic Or Get Dropped
• SaaS Service Providers Need To Align With As-A-Service Ideals
• Advice For SAP SuccessFactors Service Buyers
• 10 Tips For SuccessFactors Service Providers
• Six Snippets From Our SuccessFactors Research
• The Speed Of Change In Workday Services
• 10 Points To Consider In Salesforce Services
• What Makes Service Providers Relevant For Software-As-A-Service
• Com Providers: Time To Thrive Or Die In The As-A-Service Economy
• Com Service Provision Must Have Real Investment To Succeed
• Advice For Workday Service Providers And Buyers

I’ve been busier than I thought!  And there’s more to come. The updated Workday Services Blueprint and the Salesforce Services Blueprint will be published before the end of 2016, with all the accompanying buyer and service provider oriented supporting notes – all free of course.

So stick with HfS. We’ll keep you posted as this hot market evolves over the next few years.

Posted in : SaaS, PaaS, IaaS and BPaaS