Stories about: THINKstrategies

Facing uncertain economic times, enterprises may be more likely to turn to cloud computing services -- such as SaaS (software as a service), Amazon-style utility computing, and managed service providers -- for the lower up-front costs, the faster time to market, and the ability to add capabilities quickly without investing in new hardware.

In early March, during an annual conference in Seattle, Microsoft announced it was launching Microsoft Office SharePoint Online. While the idea was to provide a lightweight version of SharePoint as a hosted offering, analysts say the product has been presented in a way to avoid cannibalizing Microsoft's bread-and-butter installed software product, Office.

Nine out of ten software-as-a-service providers will rely on open source software by 2010 to save money, but the cost savings likely won't be passed onto customers, Gartner says in a new research note.

A recent SIM International study finds that fewer CIOs are reporting directly to the CEO. Instead, they're answering to less strategic executives, such as the chief operating officer or chief financial officer.

As software-as-a-service (SAAS) adoption rises in the workplace, business managers mustn't overlook a key issue when selecting a Web-hosted applications suite: a service-level agreement.

Serena Software will ship its enterprise business mashup software Monday with the goal of enabling quick deployment of simple applications that solve everyday business problems.

At its OpenWorld show this week, Oracle is expected to announce an upcoming version of its Siebel CRM On Demand service that will include social networking features reminiscent of consumer portals such as Facebook or MySpace.

A Look at the all time greatest controversies in the history of the networking industry.

This week Salesforce.com will, in the words of one industry analyst, "extend the value proposition of software as a service" when it introduces Visualforce at its Dreamforce Conference in San Francisco.

A Silicon Valley startup claims to boost computing security and reduce electric costs with a virtual desktop PC that uses no software or processor.

Software-as-a-service is just about the most-discussed topic in software these days. It'll probably save you money and lead to faster implementation, but it's not always a no-brainer. Here are 12 things to think about before choosing a software-as-a-service application.