The Changing Nature of the Cloud

Jeffrey M. Kaplan submits: I’ve been suggesting for a while that the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) industry is moving into a new stage in which inter-enterprise applications are becoming the focus. At the same time, the lines of demarcation between software, business and information services are blurring. Two announcements Tuesday exemplify these trends.

Jeffrey M. Kaplan submits: One of the knocks against Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and the broader cloud computing movement is that these web-based, on-demand services can’t be customized to cater to the complex requirements of specific enterprises.

In just a few short years, cloud computing has become a tech that affects everyone's daily lives. Our personal files are stored in the cloud. We maintain our friendships via apps in the cloud. Mobile phones and tablets run powerful apps via the cloud, giving rise to new devices like tablets, and killing off others, like the netbook and, perhaps one day, the PC.

Jeffrey M. Kaplan submits: There are many myths that are propagated by legacy software vendors to discredit the insurgent Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud computing movements. But, the SaaS industry has also harbored its own myths for many years as well.

By Dana Blankenhorn: Enterprise vendors are deathly afraid of the cloud.

Jessica Breen submits:With an economic recovery in full swing for the tech industry, BMC Software (BMC) reports 2% year-to-year revenue growth, driven mainly by customer adoption of cloud computing, virtualization, and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

Dana Gardner submits:Looking to improve its ability to integrate across various cloud ecosystems, IBM on Monday bought integration services provider Cast Iron Systems.

Jeffrey M. Kaplan submits: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Cloud Computing market consolidation appears to be heating up with the second important acquisition announcement of the day coming from SuccessFactors (SFSF).