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by Joshua Greenbaum, Contributing Editor   | Abstract: | The hype cycle for on-demand and software-as-a-service is winding down, and vendors are focusing on innovation — finally. |
It's official: On-demand and software-as-a-service are no longer hip. As stand-alone concepts, they've become mundane, commonplace, and downright boring. Though more and more customers are signing onto these two concepts, the vendors are realizing that it takes a lot more than hype to sell software. This is good news for many reasons: The end of the hype forces vendors to get down to the business of delivering real innovation. The end of the hype also changes the equation when it comes to what a new product can do for IT vs. what it can do for the line of business. The onus is now on features, functionality, and innovation for the end user. That's radically different than the lower total-cost-of-ownership (TCO) and ease-of-implementation selling points that have typically been touted for on-demand and SaaS until now. Those attributes largely benefit the CIO, while a focus on innovation better meets line-of-business user needs. What's starting to emerge is a richer and more complete view of what on-demand and SaaS can do beyond merely lowering TCO. Take GT Nexus, Inc. and Agistix, Inc., two companies automating the management of complex intermodal logistics for retailers, OEMs, and manufacturers. Both companies use an on-demand hub that essentially acts as a repository and management center for the myriad documents and data objects — and stakeholders — that are part of a complex global logistics chain. [Click to continue] |