SaaS Conference Keynote: Software-as-a-Service Morphs into BSP Platform

Saugatuck Founder and CEO Bill McNee to explain “SaaS 2.0” shift to business service provisioning platform

Westport, Connecticut (PRWEB) August 25, 2006 -– Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is rapidly becoming a set of integrated business service provisioning (BSP) platforms. That shift, and the business drivers behind it, are key market trends to be presented by Saugatuck Technology founder and CEO Bill McNee at IDG’s SaaScon™ conference, scheduled for Monday morning, September 25th, 2006.

McNee will be joined by a VIP group of keynote speakers, all SaaS industry leaders and analysts, including Jeff Kaplan, CEO of THINKstrategies, Buell Duncan, general manager of ISV and Developer Relations at IBM, and Tim Chou, author and former Oracle executive.

In addition, keynote panels and breakout sessions will include participation from Ann Winblad, Partner at Hummer Winblad, Tod Loofbourrow, CEO of Authoria, John Gallant, Editor and President of NetworkWorld, Greg Gianforte, CEO of RightNow, Patrick Grady, CEO of Rearden Commerce, Treb Ryan, CEO of OpSource, Gianpaolo Carraro, Architect at Microsoft, Phil Wainewright, Director at Procullux Ventures, Jeff Nolan, Director at Apollo Strategy Group at SAP, Rob Reid, Group VP of Siebel CRM OnDemand, Oracle Corporation, among others.

McNee’s comments and insights will be based on research recently published by Saugatuck, including its well-received thought leadership report, “SaaS 2.0: Software-as-a-Service as Next-Gen Business Platform.” The report, along with more recent research, shows how SaaS is at a fundamental “tipping point” between the current generation (what Saugatuck calls SaaS 1.0), and the emerging generation of blended software, infrastructure, and business services arrayed across multiple usage and delivery platforms and business models (what Saugatuck calls SaaS 2.0).

The complete research study, published by Saugatuck on April 26, 2006, is available at www.saugatech.com/239order.htm. A partial summary is available at http://research.saugatech.com/fr/researchalerts/240RA.pdf (registration required).

“I’m delighted to participate in this first-time-ever event focused exclusively on SaaS,” said McNee. “IDG has pulled together a fantastic line-up of speakers, with an agenda applicable to both business and IT leaders implementing SaaS.” For a recent podcast interview that highlights some of McNee’s key insights that will be presented at SaaScon, visit http://www.computerworld.com/blogs/node/3099.

About the Research
The research study is based on an extensive research program that included a web survey of more than 150 senior executives, 40 detailed interviews and 15 deep-dive vendor briefings, all conducted between January 2006 and March of 2006. More than two-thirds of the user firms participating in the research had revenues greater than $500 million per year. Details regarding this research and summary findings can be found by visiting Saugatuck’s web site at www.saugatech.com.

About Saugatuck Technology
Saugatuck Technology Inc. provides research-based consulting services to senior executives, information technology vendors, and investors, combining strategy development, business planning, and market intelligence with first-hand research of executive technology buyer trends. Founded in 1999, Saugatuck is headquartered in Westport, Connecticut (USA).

About SaaScon
Presented by IDG and IDG World Expo, SaaScon is the premier event for business and IT professionals seeking to dramatically lower capital expenses, produce recurring revenue and streamline product delivery and support through the Software as a Service model. SaaS is a software delivery method that provides access to software and its functions remotely as a web-based service, removing the need for organizations to handle the installation, set-up and maintenance while significantly reducing costs. For information or to register for the event, visit the SaaScon Web site at www.saascon.com. For exhibiting or sponsorship opportunities, please contact Giovanni Stein at IDG World Expo at 508-424-4864.

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