Will The Economic Downturn Mean A Rise In SaaS

Another interesting article in Infoworld about how "cloud computing" or Software-as-a-Service is poised for growth due to the economic downturn.

I certainly agree in terms of web content management.  As companies really hunker down and start trying to build value - their marketing departments will be challenged to do even more with less.  That means no huge outlay of cash in a capital expenditure and a way to "grow into" a solution when you want to stick your toe into the water first.

Somebody I really respect, Phil Wainright of ZDNet also discussed this in some detail on his blog.  Good reading for those of you beginning to consider a SaaS based web content management solution.

Comments

[Tod Pedler]

Hi Rob,

So who are the obvious and existing SaaS based Web Content Management vendors (including CrownPeak)?

[Robert Rose]

Hi Tod,

In my humble opinion, there are really only three true (by true I mean multi-tenant and architected to be SaaS) SaaS based Web Content Management systems left here in the United States. The first two are CrownPeak and Clickability (both at respective .com addresses). The third would be the old Atomz product which was purchased by WebSideStory and subsequently purchased by Omniture. They have been fairly dormant of late - but theoretically it's still available for purchase. The others that offer themselves as hosted are installed solutions offering the old "ASP" type of model.

[Air Max 2010]

You won't have a service to make system modifications after launch. Every time you need a new type of page, a new layout, a change to workflow, a simple integration, somebody needs to modify the system. Have a service or have a CMS that stinks to high heaven within 12 months.