IT Strategic Consulting Services

While others were enjoying their vacations, THINKstrategies was working overtime responding to the accelerating demand for our consulting services from a widening array of companies seeking to capitalize on the rapidly growing on-demand services market.

THINKstrategies is now recognized as the leading authority regarding on-demand services ranging from cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) to managed services. Our SaaS and Managed Services Showplace online directories have also become the leading source for information and insight about these growing markets.

I'm continuing to travel extensively conducting corporate strategy sessions, and participating in industry and company events. I'm also participating in a variety of webinars in the coming weeks.

We have also added over 200 new subscribers to our newsletter distribution list, bringing our total to over 9600 IT and business decision-makers, IT solution providers, investors and press.

I'm also pleased to welcome Akamai as the newest sponsor of the SaaS Showplace.

We are also supporting two industry surveys--SoftLetter's SaaS benchmarking survey for vendors and Cutter Consortium's Software Service Models for Business Applications survey for customers. Please take a moment to complete the survey of greatest interest to you.

I will be rolling out more surveys and services to help IT/business decision-makers, IT solution providers and technology investors achieve their corporate objectives. Stay tuned...

I hope you find this update of our latest commentaries, whitepapers and webcasts, industry events, Showplace additions and other activities regarding the on-demand services market valuable.

Contact me if you'd like to learn more about THINKstrategies' services.

Jeff Kaplan

Managing Director

THINKstrategies

THINKstrategies' Industry Views

The rapid growth of the SaaS market has sparked a new wave of 'cloud computing' services.

The cloud computing concept has captured the imagination of an assortment of business publications helping to bring greater attention to the growing array of SaaS solutions.

Among the on-demand, cloud computing services which are gaining traction are Storage-as-a-Service and remote systems management. Click here to read my views regarding the rapid evolution of the Storage-as-a-Service in in the latest issue of Iron Mountain's corporate magazine, Digital Authority. You can also click here to read my views regarding in a ComputerWorld Executive Brief regarding SaaS solutions for remote systems management sponsored by Dell.

I'm also concerned a series of service outages among the most prominent cloud computing providers is raising new questions about the reliability and long-term viability of these web-based services. Some of this backlash is being bred by ignorance, other criticisms are motivated by competitive concerns.

Click here to learn how THINKstrategies differentiates cloud computing and SaaS, or read about our concerns about the cloud computing terminology. You can also see my reaction to recent criticisms concerning the SaaS movement.

The bottomline is that as the SaaS and cloud computing markets enter a 'gold-rush' phase, IT/business decision-makers are taking a closer look at potential vendors to be sure they can meet their corporate objectives. This is raising the bar for vendors who are seeking to best position themselves in this rapidly changing market. Read THINKstrategies' SaaS Primer that provides a tutorial for IT/business decision-makers on today's web-based applications.

I've also been invited to contribute to a new blog entitled the "Business Technology Roundtable", supported by Cisco Systems, which will provide best practices for IT/business decision-makers regarding new sourcing strategies for success. I have also been contributing my views on managed services to CompTIA's Focus on Managed Services for the channel community.

I hope you find these perspectives useful. Click here to find a complete list of our whitepapers. Contact us if you'd like to discuss how THINKstrategies can help you better understand the strengths and weaknesses of today's cloud computing and SaaS offerings, or if you need help educating customers about today's on-demand services.

Become a Friend of THINKstrategies' SaaS & Managed Services Showplaces

THINKstrategies' Managed Services and SaaS Showplace directories are the largest vendor-independent online resource centers and growing everyday.

The Software-as-a-Service Showplace directory now has over 800 companies listed, offering over 3200 solutions divided into 80 Application, Industry and Enabling Technology categories. There are also over 130 companies listed on the Managed Services Showplace organized into 40 Service, Industry and Enabling Technology categories.

The Showplaces are generating a growing stream of visitors which have resulted the sites being ranked in the top listings of Google searches for "SaaS" and "managed services".

Please take advantage of our valuable resources. Add your company to THINKstrategies' online directories by completing the provider or enabling technology supplier registration forms on the Managed Services and SaaS Showplaces.

And, help us promote the Showplace directories and drive additional traffic to the Showplaces by adding our links to your sites,

Managed Services Showplace, www.msp-showplace.com
SaaS Showplace, www.saas-showplace.com

Contact us if you'd like to learn about additional ways you can leverage the Showplaces to achieve your business objectives.

New Showplace Sponsors , Perspectives and Benefits

We are pleased to welcome Akamai as our latest sponsor of the SaaS Showplace. Click here to read about the company's application acceleration services which are essential to ensure the optimal performance of today's on-demand solutions.

The Managed Services and SaaS Showplace Best Practice Portals, provided by iCentera, also include numerous vendor-supplied whitepapers regarding on-demand service industry trends. Here are some examples:

In addition to the ComputerWorld Executive Brief regarding SaaS Solutions for Remote Systems Management mentioned above, Dell has also submitted two whitepapers regarding Windows Vista Readiness - Preparing for the Journey and Engaging the Pros.

Kaseya has posted a THINKstrategies whitepaper on the Showplaces entitled, "Getting SMBs to Say Yes to Managed Services."

QuickArrow has made available a book entitled, "Tips From the Trenches: The Collective Wisdom of Over 100 Professional Services Leaders" and a whitepaper entitled, "Five Steps to Effective Resource Management".

You can find more whitepapers, webinars and other valuable resources on the Showplace sites and within the Best Practices Portals.

Click here if you'd like to learn how you can add your whitepapers and other materials to the Showplaces.

Upcoming Webcasts, Conferences and Other Events

Here are the industry conferences and vendor-sponsored webcasts in which I will be providing THINKstrategies' perspective and moderating panels:

In between these public events I have also been presenting THINKstrategies' views on today's rapidly changing market dynamics at a variety of corporate and investor events. Contact us if you'd like to include THINKstrategies' perspective at your event.

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.