The story of the life cycle of software and technology today is a familiar one, to the point of being a cliché. New technologies are constantly emerging that enable companies to improve performance and productivity, and the shelf life of older technologies (hardware and software) keeps getting shorter and shorter (24-36 months on average). This short lifespan is a key reason SaaS has become such a huge business driver, since it’s more cost-effective for most businesses to “rent” the solutions and hardware from a SaaS vendor and only consume what they need – without having to get on the “technology treadmill” themselves and bear the burden of rapidly depreciating technology.
This same logic used for software and hardware can be applied to the actual product road map. All cloud-based business computing, and in particular, digital asset management and product approval applications should be dynamic systems. The licensing business is ever-evolving, expanding and becoming more complex, so it stands to reason that the applications you choose should be robust enough to continually grow a few steps ahead of the industry and your particular needs.
The only way that the perpetual improvement happens is if the vendor you select can demonstrate not only deep licensing industry knowledge (what makes the market run and where it’s going), but also an ability to stay two steps ahead of the technological curve. This translates into forward-thinking products and road maps, and simply probing for these qualities will help you sort out industry leaders from imitative followers.
This is why, once you have confirmed that a potential SaaS (Software as a Service) vendor is financially and operationally sound, it's also imperative to look at that company's “big picture” development plans before making your final selection.
You'll want to critically evaluate the company's road map for future development. Most software companies have their major software releases planned 6-12 months in advance at upgrades as well as new modules or applications that add value to their core applications.
It’s also becoming more and more common with SaaS that software releases are done frequently, sometimes as often as quarterly or monthly, as new features are completed. The vendor should be able to give you a high-level overview of how its applications will be evolving in the next twelve months, a drill down of what to expect in each month, and an explanation of how any new features add value to the ones they already have.
The SaaS company that best suits your business should be one whose development plan makes it easy for you to find answers to all of these questions:
MyMediabox is a leading provider of SaaS hosted applications for digital asset management and style guide delivery (Mediabox-DAM), product approvals and other creative workflows (Mediabox-PA) and deal memo management (Mediabox-DM). For more information visit us at www.mymediabox.com.
- See more at: http://mymediabox-online.blogspot.com/#sthash.W0OzIvlD.dpuf
This same logic used for software and hardware can be applied to the actual product road map. All cloud-based business computing, and in particular, digital asset management and product approval applications should be dynamic systems. The licensing business is ever-evolving, expanding and becoming more complex, so it stands to reason that the applications you choose should be robust enough to continually grow a few steps ahead of the industry and your particular needs.
The only way that the perpetual improvement happens is if the vendor you select can demonstrate not only deep licensing industry knowledge (what makes the market run and where it’s going), but also an ability to stay two steps ahead of the technological curve. This translates into forward-thinking products and road maps, and simply probing for these qualities will help you sort out industry leaders from imitative followers.
This is why, once you have confirmed that a potential SaaS (Software as a Service) vendor is financially and operationally sound, it's also imperative to look at that company's “big picture” development plans before making your final selection.
You'll want to critically evaluate the company's road map for future development. Most software companies have their major software releases planned 6-12 months in advance at upgrades as well as new modules or applications that add value to their core applications.
It’s also becoming more and more common with SaaS that software releases are done frequently, sometimes as often as quarterly or monthly, as new features are completed. The vendor should be able to give you a high-level overview of how its applications will be evolving in the next twelve months, a drill down of what to expect in each month, and an explanation of how any new features add value to the ones they already have.
The SaaS company that best suits your business should be one whose development plan makes it easy for you to find answers to all of these questions:
- How does this vendor plan to stay current with cutting-edge technology?
- Is the release schedule for updates frequent and consistent, indicating that new functionality is keeping up with market demand?
- Are clients involved and listened to in road map planning?
- Will upgrades be included in the fees you’ll be paying, or is that an additional cost to you?
MyMediabox is a leading provider of SaaS hosted applications for digital asset management and style guide delivery (Mediabox-DAM), product approvals and other creative workflows (Mediabox-PA) and deal memo management (Mediabox-DM). For more information visit us at www.mymediabox.com.
MyMediabox
is a leading provider of SaaS hosted applications for digital asset
management and style guide delivery (Mediabox-DAM), product approvals
and other creative workflows (Mediabox-PA) and deal memo management
(Mediabox-DM). For more information visit us at www.mymediabox.com
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