SaaS gains, but customers want more.

• Author: Marshall, Jeffrey
• Position: TECHNOLOGY - Software as a service - Brief article

While software as a service (SaaS) continues to make solid gains as an alternative to company-installed software platforms, users are already demanding more from vendors as SaaS shifts from standalone applications to mainstream solutions linked to on-premise systems.

That's a reading of the market according to Saugatuck Technology, a research firm that has published a worldwide research report on SaaS. SaaS is generally delivered as a Web-based application for which customers pay regular fees to access the software and may share access with dozens of other companies; salesforce.com is often cited as the most popular SaaS vendor.

While today's SaaS customers show high levels of satisfaction, Saugatuck found that user satisfaction will be key to maintaining presence and revenue for vendors. Moreover, increased SaaS complexity, requirements for integration, customization and personalization--along with rising user expectations--will all challenge vendors' ability to maintain or grow revenue and market share.

"Our research shows that SaaS itself is rapidly growing more complex, moving in just a...