The Hotline Magazine
The Redefinition of Customer Support
The SaaS & Success Project

Thursday September 9, 2010





Thoughts And Wisdom

 
The SaaS & Support Project Report 2009 provides by far the most comprehensive data we've seen on SaaS support benchmarks and metrics, but perhaps even more valuable is Mikael's candid and insightful analysis of what's going on in this emerging corner of the support world. Some of his observations are frankly a bit depressing; others will make you sit up and say "Aha!" Either way, this is a report that's bound to get you thinking.
 
 
Jeffrey Tarter, Executive Director: The Association of Support Professionals (ASP)

 

 

 

Through the Lens

The SaaS & Support Project in 2010

TSSP print 300x150 The SaaS & Support Project in 2010Almost five years ago, Bill Gates warned Microsoft about the significant challenge to the company and industry posed by the advent of SaaS.  While the new business model has yet to fully reach the gains predicted for it back then, the momentum is building.  An ever-accelerating number of traditional perpetual-license software companies are readying SaaS products or have already quietly released them.  In the process, a lot has been learned about the magnitude of the change that is SaaS.  As company after company has discovered, often painfully, SaaS is not a trivial undertaking.  Designing and building a SaaS app is hard.  Achieving and sustaining profitability as a SaaS company can be an even greater challenge.

The 2009 Report of The SaaS & Support Project described alarming vulnerabilities in on-demand company organizational structure and operation for profitability in the SaaS era.  Who really “owns” the ongoing customer relationship?  What metrics should be applied to measure performance?  Which revenue conduits are most appropriate, and how can they be made scalable?  Which roles should be assigned where in the overall organizational process for maximum effect?  In 2010, the Project will continue its research into these and related issues through the methodology of online surveys, in-depth assessments, online forum conversations and direct interviews.

The findings of the Project in 2010 will be shared in a series of Executive Briefings and covered by articles here on The HotLine Magazine over the course of the year.  A comprehensive Report will be published in late fall.  There will also be several webinars and professional conference presentations along the way.  Advisory clients and sponsoring companies will receive direct updates on developments as the research proceeds.  Individuals who join the Project will have access to the special Member Library here which will include resources such as example job descriptions, organizational charts, case studies, compensation plans, process maps, etc., as they are developed from the research.  (For membership information, click here.)  There are ongoing discussions in The SaaS & Support Forum and in the private Project members area on LinkedIn.

Three leading professional groups, The Association of Support Professionals (ASP), the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) and TechAmerica have returned along with OpSource, a major cloud operations company, as continuing sponsors of The SaaS & Support Project for 2010.  (Other companies interested in participation and sponsorship opportunities are invited to contact Mikael Blaisdell.)

Questions

The various search engines of the Internet bring visitors to The HotLine Magazine around the clock from locations all over the world.  The search strings / questions being asked show a lively interest in all things SaaS, and often are added to the research efforts of the Project.  Direct questions about issues of concern are welcome, and may be submitted via Letters to The Editor.  While an individual reply isn’t possible in every case, your input will help shape the course of the Project and may well inspire future articles.

Print Print
Comment Comment
Email This Page Email This Page
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Blogplay
  • LinkedIn
  • Live
  • Technorati
  • Twitter

In March of 2007, the doors officially opened here for a new online publication.  Before that, there had been a corporate website and over twenty years of published articles in various print magazines, plus innumerable posts in online discussion forums dating back to 1979.  (CompuServe, The Source, The WELL, AOL; the essential concept of Community Support, crowd-sourcing or Web 2.0 is nothing new.)  The intent was to create a place where the conversation could focus on the key missing element, Strategy,  in the standard Process-People-Technology way of looking at organizations.

The history of The HotLine Magazine shows a surprisingly rapid acceleration.  In less than a year, the voice had developed a considerable reach as readers came from all 50 states and over 70 countries.  Today, we have readers in over 120 countries and in more than a dozen languages.  Professionals who are interested in access to a variety of resources are invited to become members.

A Consistent Vision

HotLine_print-emboss-Largest NoTagThe HotLine Magazine is about the vision, strategy and tactics of a new approach to long-term corporate success, to sustainable profitability and customer retention.

It’s no longer enough to just close a sale and count the profit.  The high technology industry is profoundly changing as it transitions and reinvents itself in the Software as a Service model.  With that sea-change necessarily comes elemental redefinitions of every aspect of organizational structure and process.

The transformation will be especially critical in the managing of customer support/service functions to achieve corporate profitability goals. Migrating old style, cost center, support/service operations to become cutting edge customer retention and profits generators requires new thinking, new metrics, and a major change in mind-set.

The steps to success are not difficult, but they require senior management support and participation. The HotLine Magazine essays address the issues, offer insight into the methods, and reveal a vastly different strategy that sees customer support activities as the core of a company’s long term viability and prosperity.

Organizations considering rethinking the support/service function, and looking for expertise in profit-centered reorganization of expensive and ineffectual customer contact center operations are invited to call Mikael Blaisdell for a complimentary Office Hours session.

About Mikael Blaisdell

mb standard SM About: The HotLine MagazineBeginning in the early days of Silicon Valley as a systems & procedures analyst at Atari, and continuing through tech-writer, hotline rep, trainer, support executive and channel management positions with a number of technology companies, Mikael Blaisdell has been a part of the high technology industry for almost 30 years. His career has included a succession of management roles, a very wide range of consulting assignments across a spectrum of industries and organizations, presentations at countless conventions, and the publication of hundreds of white papers, feature articles and columns for key magazines. He has served on the boards of start-up technology companies, service/support professional associations and non-profits.

Published: March 23, 2007

Revised: August 26, 2010