News 

On-Demand on the Rise

Constructech

January 25 , 2007 — SaaS (software-as-a-service) is not a fad. In fact, market experts believe adoption of SaaS, or on-demand, technology is growing steadily throughout all industries.

Global IT (information technology) advisory firm Cutter Consortium, www.cutter.com, Arlington, Mass., says continued strength in customer interest and adoption is validating the growth of this delivery model.

"This growth is being fueled by shifting customer preference and a solid track record of success among early SaaS adopters. Unlike overhyped technology fads of the past, which were primarily pushed by vendors, today’s SaaS market is evolving out of genuine user needs and real 'game changing’ technological innovations," says Jeff Kaplan, senior consultant with Cutter Consortium.

Cutter has been examining the SaaS market for the past few years. In late 2005 and early 2006, it published a series of executive updates based on the results of its first SaaS survey. The initial survey found nearly a third of organizations using SaaS with an equal portion considering the technology.

The latest survey from Cutter regarding SaaS further fuels the fact interest and adoption of this technology is accelerating. The proportion of respondents using a SaaS solution in the latest survey hasn’t risen, yet the percentage considering SaaS has jumped to 43%.

Among the biggest benefits of SaaS, according to Cutter, include improved ROI (return on investment) and cost-effectiveness. Cutter says the ability of current users to generate tangible and measurable results from their SaaS solutions has led many other organizations to examine how to apply the technology to their business.

Kaplan says these trends have all contributed to user adoption, not only among small and medium-sized businesses, but also larger enterprises. He cites frustration with a low level of ROI with existing applications as the main factor for increased interest from large enterprises.

Construction firms have a growing number of SaaS options tailored for their needs. In particular, many on-demand project management technology providers have been targeting construction. This includes such companies as Projity, www.projity.com, San Mateo, Calif., and eProject Inc., www.eproject.com, Seattle, Wash.

Tim Low, director of marketing with eProject, believes the on-demand model can help homebuilders better collaborate with disparate partners on a job.

"Instead of installing software on a bunch of different machines, or having to address firewall issues for each person added to an ever-changing team, (homebuilders can) purchase a pool of subscriptions, and provide accounts to people as needed," says Low. He says all homebuilders need to do with eProject is logon to the application on the company Website via either Firefox or Internet Explorer and they are ready to go.

He adds, "The on-demand model allows (all parties) easy access to the same planning environment, drawings, specs, contracts, schedules, and even alerts on their BlackBerry (devices) about updates or changes."