Reader Feedback – Blurring the Lines Between SaaS and Outsourcing June 25, 2009
Posted by edmagdich in Business Community Management, Inovis Solutions.Tags: B2B, BPO, business process outsourcing, managed services, outsourcing services
trackback
Image Source: http://ceoworld.biz
As the Director of Product Management for Inovis’s outsourcing services line, I cover the full range of outsourcing services including the base level SaaS offering all the way up to the top tier true B2B outsourcing offering.
Although there are overlaps in these unique delivery models, there are definitely differences in the complexity of the products and how they are delivered to the client. At the lowest end, you are outsourcing your applications and infrastructure through a Software as a Service offering. This implies that your SaaS provider is going to have less involvement in the day-to-day operations of managing your business community and add very little, if any, insight into your business processes.
In contrast at the other end of the spectrum, your B2B Outsourcing partner becomes a highly integrated part of your B2B support chain. Your “vendor” becomes a valuable part of your team, bridging the gap between your IT staff and your business users. By integrating with your business, your partner offers the highest level of support across a variety of business processes and technological needs, while adding the expertise to implement best practices and efficiencies tailored to your B2B projects.
In the middle tier you will find a hybrid model of a SaaS offering with value added services offered at Ad Hoc or menu item prices.
In the grand scheme of outsourcing there are many different flavors and features that can be provided to meet a customer’s needs. Because we are experts in providing solutions that cover the full range of outsourcing, and our services are based on products and expertise that are offered at every level of outsourcing, I often see these solutions as a continuous spectrum of increasing value and integration in your customer’s business. I also believe that a SaaS customer can become a Business Process Outsourcing customer with the right level of executive sponsorship and solutioning to that customer’s business needs.
However, I am interested in your view points. Does the general market see SaaS and BPO as two ends of the same product spectrum, or are these truly different products with little overlap in purpose and potential customer base? Is your SaaS opportunity today looking for a comparison of SaaS and full service outsourcing? Are they your potential BPO customer in the future?
