Software as a service SaaS

I had a good meeting with Lynn today talking about cloud computing and how our service differed from others. We talked about how there's sort of a spectrum of IT providers. On one end of the spectrum you have the "traditional" I.T. provider who provides consulting and a list of products and services that they do. On the other end you have data-centers, such as Peak10 or Rackspace that provide a place to put servers. Somewhere in the middle you have providers such as us, Reviora that provide software-as-a-service or cloud computing. There is still a need for I.T. providers who can address special needs and "roll" to client sites with technicians, and of course you still need data-centers, but there is niche for software-as-a-service providers.

Lynn asked me how we compared to Google docs. Other SaaS providers include SalesForce.com or Zoho. The answer is, we do exactly the same thing, with the same concept, but with actual 32-bit software (aka "real" Windows software). Google, Zoho, and SalesForce are providing "web-versions" or equivalents of software. Instead of Microsoft Word 2007, they have Google Writer, or Zoho Writer. Instead of Intuit QuickBooks, they have "Zoho Finance". Where Reviora and the HD product differ from Google/Zoho is that the software-as-a-service is ACTUALLY Word 2007. Many consumers and small businesses will benefit from Google/Zoho because of the lower cost and if they get enough functionality. Many small, medium, and large businesses will still need to keep Office 07, QuickBooks, PeachTree, Navision, etc.

The similar part is that both Reviora and Google are providing a cloud-computing environment. Both allow users to access data from anywhere and share it with others easily, without worrying about availability (getting to it when they want to), security, backups, etc. There's an incredible niche for cloud computing, and I believe that businesses that embrace this new concept will be on the cutting edge for 2009.

I'd encourage anyone reading this to give Google docs a spin and see what it's all about. If there's a need for "real" (or old fashioned) software delivered, that's where Reviora comes in.