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20 Nov 2006: SaaS Hosting Alliance with Microsoft

NTT Europe Online and Microsoft announce alliance to enable ISVs to adopt Software as a Service (SaaS) business models

Microsoft Corp today announced two new initiatives aimed at helping independent software vendors (ISVs) adopt the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business model. The Microsoft^® SaaS Incubation Center Program and the Microsoft SaaS On-Ramp Program will provide ISVs with business and technical guidance, one-to-one consulting, discounted licensing for the first year and access to an established hosting channel to deliver their applications to market faster than the competition.

Recent research suggests a growing trend for buying software as a service rather than as pre-paid, packaged applications. This represents a significant business opportunity for the ISV community, and is expected to spur traditional ISVs to expand their existing business model to include SaaS.

“Microsoft recognises that many ISVs are hindered in delivering SaaS offerings because they lack the necessary tools and resources,” said Michael Korbacher, director, EMEA Web and Application Hosting, Microsoft Communications Sector. “Microsoft can help all types of ISVs enter this industry by reducing the cost and complexity of delivering hosted software and crucially, by connecting ISVs with key distribution and operational channels such as telecoms operators and hosting providers.”

The Microsoft SaaS Incubation Center Program will focus on establishing a number of facilities, run by expert Microsoft partners, where ISVs are guided through a structured series of business and architectural consulting sessions to ensure their business model and applications are ready for the challenges of service-based delivery. Microsoft Gold Certified Partners NTT Europe Online and 7global are among the first managed hosting companies in Europe to participate in the programme and will each open Incubation Centers in the UK.

All SaaS Incubation Center Program partners will use the Microsoft Solution for Windows-based Hosting for Applications platform, a robust, scalable infrastructure that equips ISVs with the tools and guidance to design service-enabled software applications and facilitate user provisioning, performance monitoring, usage tracking and reporting. This enables ISVs to provide a strong service level agreement (SLA) to end users — a critical component of online service-based delivery.

“As an established SaaS enablement provider, NTT Europe Online understands that ISVs developing their applications as a service face commercial, financial and technical challenges," said Robert Steggles, Marketing Director Europe for NTT Europe Online. "Our alliance with the Microsoft SaaS Incubation Center Program enables us to address these challenges and help the ISV develop an end-to-end solution that is secure, reliable and scalable, with minimal upfront risk and investment."

“There is now a compelling business proposition for ISVs to embrace software-as-a-service and as one of the early pioneers of this delivery model, 7global has already helped dozens of software vendors to deliver their applications in this way,” said Richard Sheppard, CEO of 7global. “As a hosting partner for ISVs we play a critical role in addressing all of the key commercial and technical challenges that may arise and we have the expertise and depth of experience that ensures success for both parties.”

An additional key benefit for ISVs is that their applications can easily be integrated into other service catalogues once they have completed the readiness programme at the Incubation Centers. “At BT, we’re always focused on extending the breadth and reach of our service portfolio to ensure we are catering for the needs of our 1 million end customers,” said Bill Murphy, managing director, BT Business. “Using our service delivery environment based on Connected Services Framework, our vision is to aggregate these SaaS-enabled ISV applications with our own existing services to create compelling new offers that we jointly take to market.”

Microsoft SaaS On-Ramp Program

The Microsoft SaaS On-Ramp Program provides discounted licensing for ISVs, including a Windows Server^® License for up to eight central processing units (CPUs) and Microsoft SQL Server™ license for up to two CPUs.

Participating vendors will also receive all the benefits associated with Microsoft’s Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA), a flexible licensing programme that allows ISVs to license Microsoft products on a monthly subscription basis and to offer services and hosted applications to their end customers. It includes access to the latest versions of Microsoft software and the ability to grant customer demos for 60 days.

The SaaS On-Ramp Program will run from November 2006 to April 2008 and is part of a global effort to attract ISVs to deliver SaaS.