Marketing Resources

Retail on Demand: Software as a Service Takes Off

Aberdeen surveyed over 110 retail enterprises between October and December 2008 to determine the pressures that compel retailers to implement, or consider the implementation of, retail Software as a Service (SaaS). Considering SaaS as an IT delivery model is a vast departure from what retailers have been used to: the tradition licensed or on-premise software. Retailers that are current users of SaaS applications indicate that there are many benefits to this new deployment methodology, as well as some constrictions. It is the purpose of this ensuing report to educate retailers on the what, when, why, and how of deciding whether SaaS is the right spend for your customer, and your IT dollar.

Five Compelling Facts from the Research, Providing Actionable Benefits for Readers:

Best-in-Class companies expected ROI from SaaS investments in 7 months, versus 9.3 months for Industry Average and 11.3 months for Laggards.
Best-in-Class companies reported SaaS application up-time of 97%, versus 93% for Industry Average and 87% for Laggards.
Best-in-Class companies decreased their IT spend by an average of 17% versus an increase of 2% for Industry Average companies and 25% for Laggards.
50% of Best-in-Class companies currently have or will have personalization tools in the next 6 months, compared to 11% of Average and 13% of Laggards.
63% Best-in-Class companies currently have or will have targeted promotional campaigns in the next 12 months,compared with 41% of Average and 27% of Laggards.

Report Outtakes

ANALYST QUOTE ¹ "SaaS is not some silver bullet which will enable some poorly run companies to transform themselves overnight. Rather, it is routinely a cost-effective means of providing a much broader array of technologies and capabilities to companies which either could not previously afford them, or fully utilize them.

RESEARCH QUOTE ² 65% of respondents indicated that web applications are the leading area of SaaS IT spend. This large number is a result of a confluence of factors: the “mainstreaming” of ecommerce across heretofore reticent socio-economic lines; the near pervasiveness of broadband; and a whole host of personalized applications often lumped under the umbrella of Web 2.0 applications.

FAST FACTS/SALES QUOTE ³ 63% of Best-in-class companies have had a SaaS strategy for more than 2 years, compared to 30% of Average and 8% of Laggards.