Microsoft certainly sticks out in this Gartner Analysis.
As one my main focus area these days is on Software + Services I really am pleased with the quote on Google :
The SaaS-only model will limit the appeal for some organizations.
It confirms that although SaaS is an attractive business model with huge potential there are advantages in having multiple delivery options such as on-premise and hosting …
- With SharePoint, Microsoft offers a broad set of capabilities that combine structured collaboration with core social computing capabilities, including blogs, wikis, podcasting, persistent group chat, discussion groups, "people search" that uses social network analysis, and related rich content, portal and workflow capabilities on a platform that offers consistent management and administration.
- Microsoft has continued to see exceptional market penetration, momentum, sizable internal and external deployments, and satisfaction with Windows SharePoint Services (a component included in Windows server at no extra charge) and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS 2007) during 2008.
- It offers integration with desktop office applications and related offerings such as Microsoft’s productivity tools, leading e-mail server, unified communications suite, Web-based meetings and Live Services.
- It has a very strong technology partner network ready to exploit SharePoint’s presence in business environments while adding value and filling functionality gaps.
- The possibility now exists for better support for social analytics (sentiment and intent analysis) through integration with the recently acquired Fast Search & Transfer.
- Microsoft’s market presence as a dependable global vendor enables it to handle enterprise requirements.
- Given its breadth, MOSS may deter those who are looking to take advantage only of the collaboration and social networking capabilities, and those not fully committed to Microsoft infrastructure services.
- There are functional gaps including social tagging and bookmarking, social search and an improved wiki (although some of these are offered by Microsoft as open-source components through its Codeplex community).
- This strong partner network is a "double edged sword" as SharePoint may require a multivendor ecosystem to fulfill the needs of an organization with sophisticated social software needs.
- SharePoint’s rich functionality can be hard to pull together into user-friendly environments without some technical assistance.
- More flexible deployment options are offered through the Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) SaaS program, but its credibility will take time to establish.
As one my main focus area these days is on Software + Services I really am pleased with the quote on Google :
The SaaS-only model will limit the appeal for some organizations.
It confirms that although SaaS is an attractive business model with huge potential there are advantages in having multiple delivery options such as on-premise and hosting …
Source: Gartner Group
This report and many others are available on Microsoft’s Analyst Relations page.
