IT Strategic Consulting Services

We produced 24 vendor-sponsored whitepapers, 15 trade publication articles, 8 Strategic Thinking profiles, 6 customer case studies and four industry research reports.

I participated in over 60 vendor-sponsored webcasts, company events and industry panels. I also had the privilege of conducting 15 strategy sessions for clients seeking to capitalize on the on-demand services movement.

THINKstrategies' SaaS Showplace and Managed Services Showplace are now the top-ranked directories and resource centers in their sectors on Google!

And, this newsletter has added over 2500 subscribers this year and is now distributed to over 10,500 IT/business decision-makers, IT solution providers, technology investors and industry press!

THINKstrategies is proud to be recognized as the leading 'trusted advisor' to IT/business decision-makers who want to leverage the right on-demand solutions to satisfy their needs; IT solution providers who are trying to gain a competitive advantage in the market; and Investors looking for the best on-demand service providers to support.

Despite our success, I recognize that 2009 promises to be a very challenging year. In response, I'm developing new services to meet our clients' changing needs. We have also teamed with Trigent, a leading IT professional services company to enhance the THINKstrategies and Showplace websites to make them even more valuable.

This Update includes our latest research and perspectives on the market, and vendor-sponsored resources in the Showplace Best Practices Portals, powered by iCentera.

Contact me if you'd like to learn how you can leverage THINKstrategies' consulting and marketing services to achieve your business objectives, or to give us your feedback regarding our industry perspectives.

And, please keep in mind our special holiday charity drive on behalf of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Despite the significant challenges facing us, I hope you have a happy holiday and prosperous new year!

Jeff Kaplan

Managing Director

THINKstrategies

Economic Crisis Hits On-Demand Services Market

THINKstrategies' latest customer survey, in conjunction with Cutter Consortium, clearly indicates that adoption of SaaS solutions is growing rapidly.

However, today's unprecedented economic crisis is also having an impact on the on-demand services market. Sales have slowed and pipelines have been extended as IT/business decision-makers take a wait-and-see approach to corporate purchases.

The credit crunch has also put enormous pressure on venture capital and private equity firms to consolidate their portfolios and place higher restrictions on new investments.

An industry shake-out is inevitable. If you're an IT/business decision-maker considering on-demand service providers, who do you chose? If you're an on-demand service provider, how will you survive?

Click here to see a SIIA video interview in which I offer my perspectives on the business implications of the economic crisis on the on-demand services market.

Special Holiday Campaign to Fight Homelessness

From now until Christmas, THINKstrategies will accept whitepapers and webcasts from registered Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)and Managed Service Showplace companies who would like to support the National Alliance to End Homelessness, a nonpartisan organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States. Click here to learn more about our special holiday offer.

New Showplace Sponsors, Perspectives and Benefits

We are pleased to welcome NTRglobal as the newest sponsor of the SaaS Showplace.

NTRglobal is a leading provider of remote support, remote access and remote systems management solutions. The company has contributed a whitepaper entitled, "Achieving Sustainable Business Growth With A Remote Support Solution", to the SaaS Showplace.

Ping Identity, a leading provider of secure single-on solutions for on-demand services, has also posted a whitepaper on the Showplace entitled, "Federated Identity and Software as a Service (SaaS): Single Sign-on to the Cloud."

The Managed Services and SaaS Showplace Best Practice Portals, powered by iCentera, includes numerous whitepapers regarding SaaS industry trends.

Here are two recent additions to the SaaS Showplace,

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, a leading provider of professional services automation solutions (PSA), is also generously offering free copies of the book entitled, "Tips From the Trenches: The Collective Wisdom of Over 100 Professional Services Leaders." Click here to obtain a copy of this book.

Akamai is also become a sponsor of the SaaS Showplace. Click here to read about the company's Application Performance solutions.

Many thanks to our other 2008 sponsors for their support of the SaaS and Managed Services Showplace directories and resource centers.

Click here if you'd like to learn more about Showplace sponsorships.

Upcoming Events

I hope you'll attend today's webcast entitled, "Exceeding Customer Expectations in an Uncertain Economy", sponsored by LiveOps and Salesforce.com, at 2pm EST.

Also, put on your calendar the following important industry events in 2009,

Contact us if you'd like to learn how you can include THINKstrategies' perspective at your upcoming public or corporate event.

THINKstrategies' Managed Services & SaaS Readiness Assessment Services

Despite growing customer demand for Managed Services and SaaS, THINKstrategies has found many aspiring providers of these on-demand services are still struggling to win a share of the market because of a variety of operational challenges.

In response, THINKstrategies offers a set of Readiness Assessment Services aimed at helping aspiring SaaS vendors and Managed Service Provider (MSPs) fine-tune their go-to-strategies, service delivery capabilities, and sales processes. We also work with IT/business decision-makers who need help evaluating their SaaS needs and selecting the SaaS suppliers to satisfy their requirements.

These services are based on THINKstrategies' extensive experience in the managed services business.

Click here to learn more about our Readiness Assessment Services, or contact us to explore how THINKstrategies' services can help you achieve your business objectives.

Become a Showplace Sponsor

The Managed Services and SaaS Showplace have become the top ranked sites on the web focused on the Managed Services and SaaS markets. These sites are attracting a growing number of IT/network and business decision-makers along with xSPs, enabling technology vendors, investors and the press who are discovering the value of the online directory and resource center.

Contact us at info@thinkstrategies.com if you'd like to gain greater industry visibility via our unparalleled online directories or our increasingly popular e-newsletter.

About THINKstrategies

THINKstrategies is a strategic consulting services company formed specifically to address the unprecedented business challenges facing IT managers, solutions providers and investors today as the technology industry shifts toward a services orientation.

The company's mission is to educate organizations about the on-demand services market, and help our clients capitalize on these trends to achieve their business objectives. We help enterprise decision-makers with their sourcing strategies, IT solutions providers with their marketing strategies, and VCs with their investment strategies.

THINKstrategies is also the founder of the Software-as-a-Service and Managed Services Showplaces, the largest vendor-independent, online directory and information resource centers.