Continuous software deployment and its SaaS implications
I recently received a link to a compelling blog article on continuous deployment at IMVU. Continuous deployment methodologies are really capable of disrupting the traditional enterprise software release cycle. To me this is another checkmark favoring SaaS for enterprise software applications. Existing SaaS web applications already provide the software vendors with direct daily feedback about actual end user behavior. When this insight is combined with rapid deployment, the user experience will improve dramatically in ways that will never be achieved with traditional software license sales. These compelling benefits are in addition to the lower deployment and development costs of SaaS. Traditional enterprise software licensing is on its deathbed.
the abundance of user feedback is a severely unreported benefit of selling saas software rather than traditional licenses. as a saas vendor, i can tell who’s logging in, what they’re using vs not using, how much time they’re spending, etc. i can also manage updates and troubleshoot seamlessly. i know product managers that would sell their pets for this kind of data, real time, no less.
even more important, however, in terms of sales and marketing is the fact that the information technology department is no longer a significant hurdle. when selling business process software, i can concentrate on selling a business solution to business users. traditionally, i’d have to budget as much as 50% of my sales cycle negotiating with IT storage and security departments once the business unit made a decision to move forward. no more. now i can ignore IT completely. as long as my users have internet access, we’re in business. no talk about security, scalability, reliability, etc.