Just Remember, We Don’t Really Need Any More SaaS Products. Then You’ll Do Far Better.
I guess in some ways SaaStr is a digest of mistakes we all make in recurring revenue businesses, how to avoid them, or at least, make fewer. There’s one important mistake folks tend to make consistently in the early days. It’s the mistake of thinking anyone, any company, actually needs their product. And because they […]
CUL8R Active Directory
The 1200 baud modem was sweet in its day, but now we have broadband. The fax machine and beeper transformed businesses, but now we have smart phones, messaging apps, and near field technology. And while Active Directory is still used by 95 percent of the Fortune 500 today, with the rise of the cloud, it […]
Microsoft and Me
Regarding desktops, tablets, and smartphones – I am considering going pure Microsoft. That will mean two new mobile devices, and then switching to IE and Office 365. I will lose apps on my mobile devices and hinder my path to WebRTC. It will be a difficult transition. Why? It really boils down to two frustrations. […]
The Googrilla Grows
I recently published the Googrilla in the Midst which posits that the influence and impact of Google Apps is largely underappreciated and untapped by the UC community. We are reasonably confident that the cloud in general, and Google Apps specifically, will continue to grow. We also are sure that UC and VoIP have a bright future and […]
Acquisition News – Cloud Sherpas Broadens the Franchise and Moves Into ITSM
I’ve been covering Cloud Sherpas since its inception – I’m particularly interested in this new breed of services brokerage that is proving successful despite deriving its revenue from a small sliver of a very small annual charge – this in comparison to the traditional on-premise world where companies enjoyed massive consulting fees for implementation project […]
CloudSherpas–$40M in Funding and Another Aquisition
I’ve been following Google Apps and Salesforce reseller since it launched a few years ago – in that time I’ve seen them acquire companies globally and grow into a real force in the space. I’m always a little dubious about how much long term viability there is in a company that makes its money earning […]
Moving To The Cloud – Internal Business Considerations
Closing out my series looking and some tips and tricks for organizations making the move to the cloud — arguably leaving the most important for last — I’m going to write about the internal issues that need to be taken into consideration. First a bit of context around this – my perspective is that cloud […]
Cloud – It’s Not About Cost
Every time someone tells me that cloud computing is all about cost savings, I want to go somewhere dark to jump up and down and clench my fists. Yes, I know we all have stories of horrific IT costs spinning out of control and failed IT projects and yes, often times cloud is a panacea […]
How to Lose Your Work in Gmail in One Simple Step
I’ve been planning to come back from my “blogging hiatus” (code for writers’ block) with a more substantial piece. After all, my drafts folder is full of half-baked, abandoned posts. But hey, no better incentive to write then frustration! Have you ever seen this error? Yes, I’ve just finished composing email, hit SEND, and thought […]
Google Apps Security Tool from BetterCloud
One of the key issues for organizations moving to Google for office productivity applications is the ability to enforce policy on end users around sharing outside of the organization. This issue is a good example of the tension that exists between keeping an offering as simple as possible, and ensuring
The Google Apps Marketplace–Chances of Survival
Over on his blog, VC Brad Feld posted about the experience of three of his portfolio companies being part of the Google Apps Marketplace – Spanning, Yesware and Attachments are all built on top of Google Apps and Feld is particularly positive about their experience; While Google has been building
Application Integration in the Wild–Can Discrete Apps Work for SRP?
Last week I posted news of Intacct’s new SRP offering that ties together Clarizen, Salesforce and Intacct’s own system. It was timely given that only the week before I moderated a panel at CloudBeat that brought together a bunch of folks who think deeply about the application integration space – those who have a suite […]
Poll: Is Google Apps Enterprise Ready?
Google has been pushing Google Apps as a cloud based alternative to Microsoft. Even though they are steadily improving Google Apps to meet the needs of the enterprise customers, there is a widespread feeling that it is not enterprise ready. In the last month alone, I have spoken to almost ten IT managers (including some […]
Okta and Cloud Sherpas Partner to Accelerate GAPE Enterprise Adoption
Identity management is one of the big challenges to be faced in easing the adoption of cloud within enterprise. Okta (more on them here) and Cloud Sherpas (more on them here) have announced a partnership that is squarely aimed at easing the barriers of entry into enterprise for Google Apps. It’s quite a simple deal, […]
Battle in the Clouds: Intelligence on Google Apps
Google Apps is used by more than 40 million people and signs up 5,000 new businesses every day according to numbers recently cited by Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt. But what do all those millions of people actually use Google Apps for, and how heavily do they use it? At Spanning we have a unique view into […]
