Groei online adverteren vlakt verder af

Opvallende kentering in de online advertentie markt. Advertenties is de basis voor veel SaaS businessmodellen ...

... De bruto bestedingen aan advertenties in de media in Nederland bedroegen in 2007 ruim 6,1 miljard euro. Dit is een stijging van 8 procent (400 miljoen euro) ten opzichte van 2006. 

Dit meldt Nielsen Media Research. Alle mediumtypen noteerden een groei, behalve vaktijdschriften, bioscoop en nieuwsbladen.
Opvallend was de afvlakking van de groei van advertenties op internet.

In 2006 werd er een groei van 36 procent genoteerd; in 2007 is deze groei gedaald tot 9 procent. ...

Source: Groei online adverteren vlakt verder af

Google: The Hollow Echo of a Click

Interesting perspective found on Peter O'Kelly's blog ...

Hmmm...

Consider the results of one study, released on Feb. 12 by comScore, media agency Starcom USA, and the ad network Tacoda, owned by AOL (TWX). It found that just 6% of Web surfers account for more than 50% of all clicks on display ads, such as the rectangular banner ads that stretch across the top of many Web pages. In addition, most of these heavy clickers earn less than $40,000 a year, and they account for less than 15% of the actual shopping online. "What we have seen is that optimizing for [clicks] alone tends to get you an audience with a propensity to click," says Daniel Jaye, Tacoda's president.

BTW, ask yourself: when was the last time you clicked (on purpose...) on a banner ad?

Google: The Hollow Echo of a Click

Source: Google: The Hollow Echo of a Click

CRN - Microsoft: SaaS-aanbod is niet per se goedkoper

CRN heeft een korte samenvatting van de recente Microsoft Business Productivity Online gepubliceerd

 

... Microsoft onthulde gisteren vergaande plannen om zijn belangrijkste producten als online-dienst aan te bieden vanuit zijn datacenters. De softwareproducent wil enerzijds serverapplicaties als Exchange en Sharepoint Server aanbieden in SaaS-vorm (software as a services), en anderzijds clientapplicaties als Office. Directeur Chris Capossela van de Microsoft-divisie voor kantoorsoftware benadrukt echter dat SaaS niet per se goedkoper is dan reguliere software-aanschaf. ...

... Capossela zegt wel dat over tien jaar de helft van Microsofts software online staat. Hij meent dat over vijf jaar al de helft van de Exchange-gebruikers de online-uitvoering gebruikt. De leverancier mikt hiermee vooral op middelgrote en kleine bedrijven die zelf een kleine of geen ict-afdeling hebben. ...

... Een van de grote, niet aan twijfel onderhevige, voordelen van SaaS is namelijk dat het beheerkosten scheelt. Dat is immers voor rekening van de aanbieder (hoster). De Coca Cola Company is alvast gezwicht voor SaaS, van Microsoft. Het frisdrankconcern doet de IBM-software die het zelf draait de deur uit ten gunste van het online-aanbod van Microsoft.

Het gaat om communicatie-, kantoor- en samenwerkingssoftware: Exchange, Office en Sharepoint. Tegen eind mei moeten 20.000 van de 75.000 werknemers al over zijn naar de Online Services van de Office-producent. Cio Esat Sezer van Coca Cola zegt dat het zelf draaien en beheer van dergelijke software geen onderscheidend vermogen is voor het bedrijf en dus geen concurrentievoordeel oplevert. Efficiënte online-samenwerking biedt dat wel, aldus de frisdrankenfabrikant. ...

Source: Microsoft: SaaS-aanbod is niet per se goedkoper

Toekomst Google minder rooskleurig dan gedacht

Webwereld publiceerde vandaag een interessant artikel over de recente ontwikkelingen rond Google. Ik had het gisteren in mijn blogpast over online advertising al over de mogelijke impact van het economische klimaat op de business van Google. Google is voor bijna 100% afhankelijk van dit business model. Online advertising is voor Google de motor achter alle SaaS gerelateerde 'avonturen', gewoonweg omdat er geen ander businessmodel achter zit zoals een licentiemodel.

Ook de daling in marktwaarde van maar liefst 70 Miljard dollar over de eerste 7 weken van dit jaar is enorm ...

.. In tegenstelling tot wat Google eerder beweerde, lijkt het bedrijf nu toch de nadelige effecten te ondervinden van de stagnerende economie in de VS.

Het aandeel van Google viel maar liefst 8 procent naar beneden, nadat onderzoeksberijf comScore constateerde dat er de laatste tijd steeds minder mensen in de Verenigde Staten op de advertenties klikken, de belangrijkste bron van inkomsten voor Google. Dat meldt Reuters.

Daling marktwaarde

Het rapport veroorzaakte zoveel onrust onder beleggers dat zij deze aandelen massaal in de verkoop deden, waardoor het aandeel Google daalde tot een waarde die voor het laatste elf maanden geleden werd gezien. Het is niet de eerste tegenslag voor de zoekgigant. In de eerste zeven weken van dit jaar daalde de marktwaarde van Google daalde met maar liefst 33 procent, oftewel 70 miljard dollar.

Minder vertrouwen

De massale verkoop van aandelen markeert een kentering in de houding van investeerders tegenover Google, die lange tijd dachten dat het gigantische bedrijf geen nadelig effect zou ondervinden van de recessie. Een van de redenen hiervoor is de uitspraak van Google topman Eric Schmidt eind vorige maand: ""We hebben geen enkele negatieve invloed van een mogelijke recessie gezien op onze inkomsten".

Grotere concurrentie

Zowel analisten als investeerders maken zich nu toch zorgen, dankzij de tegenvallende groei en verdiensten in het laatste kwartaal van 2007 in combinatie met het rapport van comSore. Men is er nu van overtuigd dat 'zelfs' Google in een neerwaartse spiraal terecht kan komen door de economische problemen in de Verenigde Staten.

Daarbij zijn investeerders ook bang dat, als Microsoft het voor elkaar krijgt om Yahoo over te nemen, er een grote concurrent ontstaat: "We zien geen goede reden om op dit moment het aandeel te kopen, omdat we denken dat er een aantal lastige maanden op stapel staan voor Google", aldus een beursanalist. ...

Source: Toekomst Google minder rooskleurig dan gedacht
redactie@webwereld.nl (Martin Gijzemijter)
Date Published: Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:41:00 GMT

Omzet online-advertentiemarkt groeit (?)

AG citeert een rapport van PWC waarin een rooskleurig beeld van de online advertentiemarkt wordt gegeven, althans als we terugkijken :

... De omzet van de online-advertentiemarkt in 2007 bedroeg meer dan 21 miljard dollar. Dat is een groei van 25 procent ten opzichte van 2006. Dat blijkt uit voorlopige cijfers van het Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB).

De winst kwam uit op 4,2 miljard dollar, terwijl er in 2006 nog een groei van 4,3 miljard dollar werd bereikt, wat ten opzichte van 2005 een groei was van 35 procent. Het meest winstgevend waren trefwoordadvertenties zoals Google en andere zoekmachines die gebruiken. 

PricewaterhouseCoopers heeft ook een kwartaalenquête gehouden onder de 15 grootste online-advertentieverkopers. ...

Source: Omzet online-advertentiemarkt groeit

 

Ik kwam ook een ander artikel tegen deze week die met name de online advertentiemarkt en het effect op met name Google in het perspectief van het huidige economische klimaat in de VS plaatst :

... Google Very Exposed to US Recession--Expert

 

A digital-ad industry insider thinks Google is far more exposed to a US recession than the market realizes. The insider also thinks that the next two quarters will be "rough."

The insider is not a Google employee, but s/he has real-time insight into digital ad spending and is therefore not just talking out of his/her posterior. The insider's view is based on two key assumptions:

• A significant percentage of Google's customer base is exposed to economic weakness (logic below), and
• As consumers spend less, the ROI for many Google advertisers will drop--and this will cause them to spend less on Google (We concur with this view, which is still a minority view.)

The insider's analysis is sophisticated, so we will walk through it in detail. It also relies on significant estimation and extrapolation: The insider does not have inside knowledge of Google's numbers. We find the insider's logic compelling, however--more so than Google's strange explanation for the Q4 miss, which we still don't think makes sense.

A SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE OF GOOGLE'S ADVERTISERS ARE EXPOSED TO WEAKNESS

The insider estimates that Google's customer base can be roughly segmented as follows:

• Approximately 1.2 million total AdWords customers.
• Approx. 800,000 active AdWords customers (the rest inactive because they have stopped using Google or because of seasonality).
• Approx. 60% of AdWords revenue comes from customers who spend $200,000 or less per month.
• Approx. 50% of AdWords customers spend $50,000 or less per month (Small and Medium-sized businesses).
• Approx. 20% spend $10,000 or less per month (Small businesses).

The primary economic exposure, the insider believes, is in the 50% of customers that spend $50,000 or less per month. We don't know what percentage of Google's revenue these customers generate, but we would estimate a third or more. If customers who account or a third of Google's revenue decrease their spending by a third, Google's revenue growth would slow sharply. ...

Source: Media & Entertainment News

Fasthosts offers pay-as-you-go Office 2007

Webhoster Fasthosts is offering a downloadable Microsoft Office suite starting at prices little under 7 Euro per month for the Student version

Check out their full proposition : Fasthosts.co.uk

... Web hosting firm Fasthosts is offering Microsoft's Office 2007 suite using a software-as-a-service delivery model.

Customers can obtain the productivity suite as a download direct to their PC for £4.99 to £19.99 per month, avoiding the upfront costs and discs involved with the boxed product.

The downloadable Office suite is exactly the same in appearance and functionality as the boxed product, but runs locally on a user's PC and is verified with Fasthosts when the PC goes online.

Users have to be online every time they use the product at this stage, although an 'offline version' is in the works.

Mark Jeffries, chief technology officer at Fasthosts, said: "Our Office package is an excellent way to obtain the latest versions of the software we all need on a pay-as-you-go basis. Its low monthly cost and easy installation will suit a great many home and business users."

Fasthosts is offering four versions of the productivity suite. Office Standard includes Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, while Office Professional Plus adds Publisher, Access and Infopath.

Households with a user engaged in educational activities qualify for the Student Edition, and can opt either for the Standard edition at £4.99 per month or the Professional Plus version for £6.99 per month.

Users without a dedicated student on the premises can lease the Standard edition for £14.99 a month and the Professional version for £19.99 a month.

The software-as-a-service concept allows the provision of software by a vendor for delivery or use over the internet. This means that customers do not pay for owning the software but rather for using it.

This enables users to pay for software gradually, and benefit from service benefits such as free updates and any support provided by the vendor. ...

Source : VNUnet.com

Important update (11-2-2008) :

Apparently the new service provided by Fasthosts is not in agreement with Microsoft and incompliant with regards to the licensing regulations : 

Microsoft: Streaming Office 'infringes licence'

... Microsoft has said that the internet service provider Fasthosts, which has started offering a subscription-based version of Microsoft Office 2007, is infringing on the software giant's licence regulations — but Fasthosts has denied this claim.

Earlier this week, the UK-based ISP and hosting company started selling a version of Microsoft Office which it advertised as being "streamed to your PC". However, unlike true hosted software, or software as a service (SaaS), it requires the user to download software to their client PC.

"Fasthosts' Microsoft Office product uses the SaaS model in that it is delivered and managed via the internet," explained Mark Jeffries, Fasthosts' chief technology officer, on Thursday. Speaking with ZDNet.co.uk via email, Jeffries said that a "full version Microsoft Office, identical to the boxed product, is downloaded using a streaming service and saved locally on a user's PC".

"After one initial download, further small downloads are made for additional features and updates. When functions are used for the first time, features are seamlessly streamed in the background. The software is validated when connected to the internet," explained Jeffries.

Jeffries claimed that Fasthosts' version of Office was the result of a partnership "with Microsoft and established market-leading experts in the field of software streaming". However, Microsoft has disagreed with this claim. ...

Source : ZDnet.co.uk

Microsoft sluit advertentiedeal met Wall Street Journal

Sinds de overname van aQuantive maakt Microsoft behoorlijke stappen in de online advertentiemarkt. Online advertising stelt Microsoft o.a. in staat om nieuwe business /licentiemodellen in daarvoor geschikte markten te introduceren ...

... Microsoft wordt de exclusieve leverancier van (zoek)advertenties voor alle websites van de Wall Street Journal. Hiermee heeft de softwaregigant een tactische overwinning behaald op naaste concurrenten Google en Yahoo, die ook in de race waren.

Naast de website van de Wall Street Journal (WSJ) gaat Microsoft vanaf volgende maand ook de advertenties leveren voor andere websites van het digitale netwerk van de krant, waaronder Barrons.com, MarketWatch.com en allThingsD.com. Financiële details zijn niet bekendgemaakt. ...

Source: Microsoft sluit advertentiedeal met Wall Street Journal
Automatisering Gids
Date Published: Wed, 30 Jan 2008

Monetization: the next frontier of SaaS / S+S architecture

Giopaolo discusses the different SaaS business models :

... Over the week end, I was looking at AMZN DevPay announcement and I started thinking in more general terms about the architectural impact of different monetization schemes. At a high level, software / service monetization can be put into 4 main categories:

• perpetual license (e.g. one time charge of $85 and you get unlimited access to the software)
• subscription (e.g. $20 per user per month)
• usage based also known as transaction based (e.g. $0.05 per text/SMS sent)
• and ad-funded (the service is free for the user and is paid for by someone interested in getting your attention while you are using the service/software)

Each scheme has an implication on the overall architecture of the service, and even further, some scheme cannot be used unless some architectural elements are part of the solution. Let me explain this in taking these 4 schemes one by one. ....

Be sure to check the whole post at source...

Source: Monetization: the next frontier of SaaS / S+S architecture
gianpaolo
Date Published: Sat, 19 Jan 2008

Software Licenses Are Too Costly And Complex, Survey Says

Vendors don't provide rationale behind license fees and are shifty about discounts, but the SaaS model may force them to change their ways, Forrester predicts.

... When it comes to licensing software, many IT professionals think they're not getting their money's worth, according to a new Forrester Research report. They also think software vendors don't understand their business, are shifty about discounts, and don't always provide clear direction following an acquisition. ...

... Forrester recently surveyed 25 customers of large software companies and 215 business and IT professionals. Eleven of the 25 big software customers complained that license agreements are too complex and maintenance fees are too high, according to the report by analysts Ray Wang and Elisse Gaynor. Respondents said they're often not clear on the value of what they're paying for and don't understand the rationale behind expenses, discounts, or provisions for changes to their licensing.

Among the 215 respondents, the maintenance fees they pay average 26% of their total cost of ownership of software, even though 87% said a fair price would be 24% or less of the total cost. Many respondents said they have paid for maintenance services they never use, according to Forrester.

One-quarter of the smaller respondent group said big software vendors were too "rigid," meaning they wouldn't accommodate specific needs or make an effort to understand how their businesses worked, which leads to "force fitting" apps for each client. ...

... But Forrester is optimistic about the future. Growing interest in software as a service will force providers of traditionally licensed software to change their ways. The pay-as-you-go SaaS model "will give business owners a taste of streamlined, more easily consumed licensing," Forrester predicts, noting that SaaS also typically comes with a bundled license, maintenance, and upgrade package. Customers will "gain more interest in and grow more vocal for simplistic and holistic approaches to usage-based pricing agreements," the analysts predict.

The growth of service-oriented architectures, meanwhile, will force vendors to be more flexible about pricing, Forrester predicts. As SOA eases integration among apps, the analysts reason, customers will have an eye toward their business processes when negotiating with software providers, and "will demand that vendors deliver or improvise flexibility for business process pricing."  ...

Source: Software Licenses Are Too Costly And Complex, Survey Says
Date Published: Fri, 25 Jan 2008

Salesforce to launch development-as-a-service

That's the interesting thing with SaaS, organisations prove to be very innovative when it comes to pricing models ...

... Stealing a page from the Apple iTunes playbook, Salesforce.com announced on Thursday a $0.99 pricing model.

The introductory subscription pricing is on a per-log-in basis and is meant to accelerate the adoption of the SaaS (software as a service) ?model into such areas as human resources, employee expense and vacation requests, and job recruiting, where an infrequent usage model would not justify a monthly subscription fee.

?In a category like vacation requests, HR may live in that but every employee is not accessing it every day. This is for a new community,? said Ariel Kelman, senior director for platform product marketing.

The $0.99 pricing will be good for one year and will rise to $5 per log-in with a maximum five log-ins per user per month starting in 2009.

?Salesforce also announced a new Cloud Computing Architecture which Kelman characterized as ?development as a service.?

Dubbed the Force.com Development-as-a Service, the technology also includes the year-long .99 cent pricing model and uses the Force.com development platform which will also offer a .99 cent per log in service for developers.

Development-as-a-Service will give users a set of development tools in the cloud and a metadata API which so that developers can access code and the database schema. ...

Source: Salesforce to launch development-as-a-service
Date Published: Thu, 17 Jan 2008

Microsoft sluit advertentiedeal met Viacom

Advertising is een belangrijk onderdeel in bepaalde business / licentiemodellen in de SaaS / Software + Services markt. Google is daar uiteraard op dit moment het meest aansprekende voorbeeld van. Microsoft echt op stoom aan het komen ...

... Microsoft wordt de komende vijf jaar de advertentiepartner van (multi)mediagigant Viacom. Dat maakten de twee bedrijven vandaag bekend. De deal heeft een waarde van rond de 500 miljoen dollar.

Microsoft gaat Viacom, eigenaar van onder andere MTV Networks en Paramount Pictures, helpen advertenties te plaatsen en adverteerders te vinden voor zijn websites in de VS. Daarnaast gaat Microsoft zelf ook reclame op deze sites plaatsen.

Viacom op zijn beurt gaat ingekorte versies leveren van zijn films en televisieprogramma’s voor de MSN portal en het Xbox 360 online netwerk. Ook wordt Viacom partner van Microsoft op de internetspelletjessites van de softwaregigant. ...

 

... Microsoft is al een tijd bezig zich te positioneren op de online-advertentiemarkt ten koste van Google en Yahoo en lijkt daar, naar het schijnt, steeds meer in te slagen. (Wilberd Gijzel) ...

Source: Microsoft sluit advertentiedeal met Viacom
Automatisering Gids
Date Published: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:51:00 GMT

Microsoft expands Office ‘pay-as-you-go’ rental program

The program is expanded to 5 additional countries for now :

... Microsoft is extending its Office “rental” program to five more markets before the end of 2007.

Microsoft will begin offering the 2007 Microsoft Office Prepaid Edition in India, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Egypt before the end of calendar 2007, company officials said on November 14. Microsoft already offers Office 2007 on a “pay-as-you-go” basis in South Africa and Romania.

Via the pay-as-you-go program, users can choose three- or six-month subscriptions to Office Professional 2007 and pay a monthly fee to use the product. Users may renew the subscriptions at any time. If they don’t renew, Office goes into reduced functionality mode, which allows users to continue to view and print files. Users cannot create or save new files or modify existing ones in this mode. ...

Microsoft expands Office ‘pay-as-you-go’ rental program
Mary Jo Foley
Wed, 14 Nov 2007

Forrester: Software Buyers Should Consider Business-Metric-Based Licenses - But Cautiously

Interesting perspective on licensing. With the broader adoption of SaaS also the licensing models will (have to) change ...

Many IT sourcing professionals negotiating contracts for new software purchases will receive offers of licenses priced by business metrics, such as turnover or employee numbers. Vendors are introducing these types of metric because traditional licenses based on usage or deployment are becoming increasingly problematic for both vendors and customers. Terms such as "user" and "server" are difficult to define or measure in the age of Dynamic Business Applications and Information Workplaces. Companies waste time arguing with their suppliers about licensing technicalities instead of focusing on getting maximum value from the products they've bought. Unlimited "enterprise licenses" using novel pricing schemes can be mutually beneficial, but there are also risks for the unwary in these pricing models — including a dangerous loss of flexibility when a company grows. Buyers should understand the pros and cons of business-metric-based software pricing so they know when to recommend it and how to protect their employers from longer-term problems.

Source: Software Buyers Should Consider Business-Metric-Based Licenses - But Cautiously
Author: "Duncan Jones"
Date Published: Wed, 14 Nov 2007

AG: McAfee gaat over op ‘SaaS’-constructie

Met de komst van nieuwe termen en het teotreden van nieuwe en bestaande spelers neemt ook de inflatie van het gebruik van die termen toe. Volgens mij gaat McAfee niet iets wezenlijk anders doen dan het meer de nadruk leggen op de sales via intenet ipv CDtjes en het subscription model gaat veranderen. Volgens mij gaan de aanpassingen in het businessmodel met ook voor McAfee zelf de nodige voordelen opleveren qua adminitsratie / productie en shippingkosten.

... McAfee heeft bekendgemaakt te breken met zijn traditie om elke nieuwe versie nadrukkelijk van versienummer of jaartal te voorzien. De beveiliger wil voortaan gaan werken via ‘software as a service’.

McAfee vindt het niet meer interessant welke versie iemand gekocht heeft. Iedere nieuwe installatie levert voortaan automatisch de nieuwste versie op, inclusief alle updates en functies die in latere versies zijn toegevoegd. Voortaan zullen klanten van het beveiligingsproduct een jaarabonnement afsluiten dat op ieder moment kan ingaan.

Alleen als er geen internetverbinding is of iemand nadrukkelijk geen nieuwe versie wil kan er nog een cd worden geleverd. ...

Source: McAfee gaat over op ‘SaaS’-constructie
Author: Automatisering Gids
Date Published: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 19:45:00 GMT

CMSWatch: DocZone introduces radical pay-per-minute plan

Intersting business model for SaaS if you ask me. My guess is, this isn't the last we've seen of creative business models. Profit that's a totally different discussion; aparently not important today ...

... DocZone.com, provider of the first SaaS-based content component management system, has introduced another novelty: pricing based on payment per minute.

This type of payment plan is not unusual for the mobile phone industry, but is certainly radical for the SaaS space. Enterprises typically turn to a SaaS provider for two reasons: they don't want to or don't have the resources to support the technology, or they don't want to tie up funds to purchase the technology -- they'd rather pay for it over time.

DocZone's "Pay-Per-Minute" service is certainly focused on the issue of costs. Customers can buy a block of minutes for a fixed price per minute, with larger blocks receiving discounted rates. Rates range from 39 cents/minute for 2,500 shared minutes a month to 24 cents/minute for 50,000 shared minutes a month. There is no limit on the number of users that can share the minutes.

At first glance, this new pricing scheme sounds expensive. After all, haven't we all at some point experienced outsized mobile phone bills until we found a better plan or controlled usage? However, looking at it from the perspective of a small business with, say, six users, the numbers could become enticing:

• A Traditional/Classic plan would cost $695/user per month, and let's say two reviewers ($50/month) or $4,270/month
• A block of 10,000 shared minutes would cost 34 cents/minute or $3400/month. ...

 

Source: DocZone introduces radical pay-per-minute plan
Author: rockley@rockley.com(Ann Rockley)
Date Published: Tue, 18 Sep 2007

The unprofitability of the SaaS business is an illusion caused by growth

Curt Monash of the Monash Report blog shares some thought on the (un)profitability of the SaaS business by taking Salesforce.com's earning as an example. He makes a very big assumption proving his point ... :

There’s a fallacy going around to the general effect:

Salesforce.com is the biggest SaaS company. Salesforce.com is making next to no profit. Therefore, SaaS is currently not a profitable business.

But that’s nonsense. Here’s why.

If you look at Salesforce.com’s second quarter 10K, 6-month revenues were $339 million, up from $223 million the year before. Marketing and sales costs were $174 million, slightly over 50% of revenue. Profits were negligible. The company says the churn rate is negligible, so that 50% of revenue was spent increasing sales by 50%.

Now let’s suppose that the SaaS (Software as a Service) industry becomes more mature. 1% would no longer be a realistic churn rate. Let’s suppose it instead goes to 10%+, based on both true replacements and client disappearances. Let’s suppose the revenue growth rate settles down to somewhere in the teens. Bam. To a first approximation we can whack marketing and sales by a factor of 2, and take pretax margins well over 20%.

Of course, things aren’t really that simple. It’s also necessary to market and sell for customer retention. And true marketing cost (as opposed to sales) isn’t closely tied to the number of opportunities you have. But on the other hand, as you grow there are all kinds of economies of scale too. So to a second approximation, 25 – 40% pretax margins don’t seem unrealistic. ...

Source: The unprofitability of the SaaS business is an illusion caused by growth
Author: Curt Monash
Date Published: Tue, 25 Sep 2007