Great question. This analysis is about the alignment between the technology, the business model and the customer based on the assumption that when they are well aligned the business thrives, and when they are not the business will struggle. Well, all businesses struggle. The comment in the post perfect alignment is rarely achievable, because your customers will pull your business in one direction, while your technology will pull it in another is particularly applicable to your situation.

I think the solution is to focus on how you (and your customers) define your business, not your technology. From what you describe, it is not certain that you are in the hosted quadrant vs. the SaaS quadrant. If your technology is multi-tenant SaaS and standard for all customers, then that is what it is. But, if your customers want you to be a managed services business, i.e., high human services, customer-specific customization to your product, delivered online, and they are willing to pay extra for all these things, then you will do best to follow their lead.

Cheers,

JY

My big SaaS product is for the environmental data management. I built the concept when working for corporate America, saved the company $1.2 million a year, and realized I could do it for other companies.

My monthly fees I charge for this software are not cheap ($1500-$5000/month), but the ROI is less than 12 months (spend $50,000 to save $500,000), depending on the size of the customer.

This all sounds great if I had 100 customers, but I have less than 5. This is a technical multi step sale to big companies and government agencies, and I have been thinking it takes a while to make this happen.

However, your post has me wondering about alignment with my prospective customers. According to your chart, I am really in the managed hosting quadrant and not the SaaS quadrant. I am not sure what they means yet, but I will certainly be giving it some thought.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.