The Hindu Business Line : SaaS good option during tough times: HP executive

Recently in Singapore During tough times where enterprises are cautious about their overall IT spend, it may be appropriate to consider the option of Software as a Service (SaaS) model, Mr Darryl Dickens, Head of Marketing, HP Software, Asia Pacific and Japan, said.

“Hewlett Packard (HP) is amongst the top software vendors globally and its SaaS services help more than 670 enterprises, including the likes of Citibank, to manage their business,” Mr Dickens told Business Line outlining some key business trends in SaaS adoption globally.

During a trip hosted at HP Cooltown in Singapore, Mr Dickens said, “If independent research reports of Gartner are any pointers, 25 per cent of new software business will come from SaaS by 2011. We are moving away from large packaged software implementation approach.”

Citing Forrester, Mr Dickens said, “Of the big four IT management software vendors, only HP has made a SaaS play; it is leveraging the existing SaaS organisation that it gained as part of its acquisition of Mercury Interactive.”

Smart thinking

“In fact, this SaaS model of services is a not-too-publicised aspect of HP and we expect more companies to do some smart thinking and take to this adaptive computing approach, where they pay as they use,” he explained.

There are some drivers for SaaS. For a non-IT firm, they face the challenge of getting the right technical staff and it is increasingly difficult to retain them in this competitive business environment. The second is related to lower IT budgets. One cannot automate what you cannot manage, and therefore, enterprises need expert guidance.

Thus, hybrid models to suit specific needs have evolved. One relates to managing IT infrastructure and then when a customer is comfortable, this is transferred to them. The other is by providing software on demand.

Market growth

The SaaS market is growing at 30 per cent compared to the enterprise business. The acquisition of Mercury has added Business Technology Optimisation capability.

Mr Dickens said it is important to educate IT professionals and enterprises about different permutations of SaaS as it is a powerful service to help enterprises conserve capital. Many times, SaaS is associated with on-demand business applications.

HP’s hybrid model appeals to enterprises. Small and medium enterprises could also benefit from this model, where the flexibility of transferring this later is helpful, he said.