SaaS: Key Manufacturers for 2013 and Their Development Trends

Salesforce.com, Oracle, SAP and other IT industry veteran companies, and Workday as a representative of a large number of emerging startups, is constantly injecting new vitality into the SaaS market.

In the new entrants 2013, the SaaS (software as a service) market will be infused with more vitality and significant changes are possible. Let's look at some of the key SaaS vendors of note in 2013, and related trends.

Salesforce.com: Salesforce.com has become the largest independent player in the SaaS market and any discussion of the SaaS market is incomplete if Salesforce.com is not taken into account. Salesforce.com should send more messages on social collaboration, CRM (customer relationship management), customer service and application development software, and at the same time the company may launch a new branded app to tap into a hitherto They do not have a direct market segment.

Workforce.com's employee performance management application Work.com, launched in 2013, is a typical case in point. Responsible for overseeing Work.com project is Salesforce.com application development executive John Wookey. Prior to joining Salesforce.com, Wookey worked at Oracle and SAP. In 2013, Wookey may launch something new.

Oracle: Not all Oracle SaaS solutions are currently in widespread use, but if not all, at least most Oracle SaaS solutions will reach that level sometime in 2013, and perhaps at this moment in time Before the OpenWorld conference in September. Oracle said so far, two-thirds of converged applications customers choose the SaaS model. Although Oracle does not show a large number of detailed customer stories that reflect this trend, we believe there will be a significant amount of open source material and case studies in 2013.

SAP: German software giant SAP aggressively entered the SaaS market in 2012 with the acquisition of SuccessFactors and Ariba. Of the two vendors acquired by SAP, the former are HCM (Human Resource Management) vendors, which primarily provide a cloud-based supplier network. In addition, SAP has a self-developed Business ByDesign ERP suite and a host of professional SaaS applications that work with the native Business Suite for the Enterprise. SAP officials may decide to develop a long-term SaaS roadmap for Business Suite in 2013.

Microsoft: We think Microsoft Dynamics ERP software products will be more focused on SaaS. Microsoft's marketing strategy for SaaS may be to prove to customers that they can provide a one-stop SaaS virtual store that includes everything from Office, CRM and ERP. Michael Krigsman, CEO and Analyst at Asuret, a consulting firm, said: "While Microsoft has made some progress, they need to get the different parts of the company to negotiate with each other and they are doing the job right now."

Workday: Workday, the SaaS provider of finance and HCM, has attracted a lot of attention due to its well-known client server and the recent successful IPO (initial public offering). However, outside attention has also put pressure on the company's operations. Market watchers will be eyeing Workday's share price, revenue, and the company's ability to meet the Oracle and SAP challenges in this market.

Intuit: Millions of small businesses are using Intuit's QuickBooks software. As more and more customers start turning to SaaS, Intuit also eagerly hopes to retain these customers. In September 2012, Intuit launched the global version of its online QuickBooks covering more than 100 countries. At the same time, Intuit also started developing SaaS suites for small businesses. The suite is tightly bundled with Demandforce cloud-based marketing software through online and local QuickBooks. It seems that Intuit will continue along this path in 2013.

Zuora: Zuora launched a SaaS software for a subscription-based for-profit company. The software has billing, e-commerce and financial models that address the unique needs of such companies. Currently Zuora has received widespread attention and may be IPO. The company may still be watching whether potential buyers are ready to buy them and whether new competitors are challenging them.

Single sign-on for SaaS: Vendors such as Okta, Ping Identity and OneLogin are rolling out their own single sign-on for multiple SaaS applications. This area is growing as more and more customers begin to abandon legacy applications and reshape their IT environment around SaaS. However, these clients found that they encountered a new management issue during the transition. However, single sign-on for SaaS can undoubtedly help a consulting firm launch some solutions or manage the best SaaS suite for its customers.

Cloud ERP for Manufacturers: As we all know, ERP has caused some SaaS-related markets to slow down. However, as the SaaS vendors will focus on specific vertical markets such as manufacturing, the cloud ERP market for manufacturers may see continued growth in 2013. Companies such as NetSuite, Plex Systems and Kenandy have already focused on this market.