Borrowed with attribution from www.broadbandevolved.com and http://www.broadbandevolved.com/Home/tabid/117/EntryID/37/Default.aspx.

Gartner Group reports that the global SaaS market reached $6.3 Billion last year and may hit $19.3 Billion by 2011.  Those are big numbers.  HUGE numbers.  The type of numbers that attract the biggest players in an industry to the feast.  Historically, that hasn't been the case.

Says Ben Pring, Gartner's Research VP, "For large, established IT solution providers, the SaaS market so far hasn't appeared to have enough incremental growth potential to meaningfully contribute to revenue growth."

But with $19.3 Billion in play, the opportunity to carve off even a small but appreciable percentage chunk can move the revenue dial.  And so while we've already seen folks like Microsoft (with OfficeLive) and Google (with GoogleApps) enter the field, you might expect to see similar announcements from IBM, HP, Sun (Star Office Online anyone?) and Oracle.  Many of these big players do have services available, but they aren't hanging their hats on them like Microsoft is.

One unsubstantiated claim from an industry conference was that Microsoft expects 80% of SMBs (a global market of millions and millions of buyers) to sample a SaaS solution in the next year or so.  That's likely a gross exaggeration, but one that, if only partially right, is exciting for the players involved.  All the more reason for the evolved broadband providers to take a lead position now.

More coverage of the Gartner announcement under Network News at OneStopClick.  Direct link to the story here:

http://www.onestopclick.com/news/Global-SaaS-market-reaches-$6.3-billion_18084463.html

Says Ben Pring, Gartner's Research VP, "For large, established IT solution providers, the SaaS market so far hasn't appeared to have enough incremental growth potential to meaningfully contribute to revenue growth."

But with $19.3 Billion in play, the opportunity to carve off even a small but appreciable percentage chunk can move the revenue dial.  And so while we've already seen folks like Microsoft (with OfficeLive) and Google (with GoogleApps) enter the field, you might expect to see similar announcements from IBM, HP, Sun (Star Office Online anyone?) and Oracle.  Many of these big players do have services available, but they aren't hanging their hats on them like Microsoft is.

One unsubstantiated claim from an industry conference was that Microsoft expects 80% of SMBs (a global market of millions and millions of buyers) to sample a SaaS solution in the next year or so.  That's likely a gross exaggeration, but one that, if only partially right, is exciting for the players involved.  All the more reason for the evolved broadband providers to take a lead position now.

More coverage of the Gartner announcement under Network News at OneStopClick.  Direct link to the story here:

http://www.onestopclick.com/news/Global-SaaS-market-reaches-$6.3-billion_18084463.html