Holty’s Talent Blog

SERVICE
work done by somebody for somebody else as a job, a duty, a punishment, or a favour

SOLUTION
a method of successfully dealing with a problem or difficulty

Semantics you say – but is this different from Software as a Service ?

To me it is– I have been trying to segment the SaaS market more effectively in terms of those solutions that simply target a market need and service that need through a 100% web based solution.

Often there are additional services but they are simply an add on to / upgrade for the product. Similarly there are user forums but once again they generally focus on using the product as opposed to addressing the problem / business issue.

Successful implementation and management of the product in these cases is left almost entirely as the responsibility of the purchaser and this is logical given the different needs and capabilities of users.

But what if the “product” component was supported with both formal and informal sources of support, perspective and relevant opinion that effectively provided you with the total solution to your problem. It involves a community oriented approach to a point but in doing so creates a knowledge engine (through a wiki or similar technology) that actually moves the user / member to a more holistic solution more aligned to their specific circumstances (industry type, geography etc.).

Applying this type of thinking is well underway in the Sonar6 labs to enhance our user experience and solution to talent management.

Is it so different from Software as a Service though ?