I was recently asked the question, "what is the best pricing model for a SaaS provider?".

As the co-founder of an 11 year old SaaS project management software company I felt I had some insight.

First of all let me say this.  This question has 2 very different answers when you consider "what's best for the customer?" or "what's best for the offering company?
 

I was recently asked the question, “Can we Trust SaaS (Software as a Service) firms on Security?” and offered up a surprising answer.

Bottom line: “No – you absolutely positively can NOT trust a SaaS provider with security.”

Now let me explain through a personal example...

 

I was recently asked, “How do you communicate the "value" of your service/product/work to your client/boss?”   So here is my no fail 4 step plan to communicating your value to your boss, manager, or client.
 

It has been a bad month for some companies providing project portfolio management (PPM) and other related SaaS solutions.  In light of recent reliability and solvency issues with some of our competitors, it is important to reiterate our company’s commitment to fiscal stability and reliability. 

 
Wildflower International, a leading provider of information technology to the U.S. Federal Government, announced the selection and successful implementation of the SaaS project portfolio management software VPMi version 4.5. Wildflower is deeply committed to the issues of security, collaboration, and customer service and the VPMi allowed them a world class platform to deliver on that promise with U.S. Federal Government contracts.
 

 
QSR, a leader in SaaS Picture Archiving and Communication Systems has announced the adoption and implementation of newly upgraded VPMi SaaS project portfolio management software.  QSR selected VPMi v4.5 over Microsoft Project EPMLive, Daptiv, @Task, and twelve other SaaS PPM providers with ease of use, lower cost, full Microsoft Project integration, and a more complete resource management capability cited as the major factors in the decision.
 

VCSonline reports 30% growth in SaaS project management software - VPMi ahead of the largest new release in 5 years: VPMi v4.5.

 
Seems like a waste of time - right?  Find out what is in it for VCSonline - but more importantly - what's in it for our fans and the people looking for a simple, sensible, and secure alternative to expensive and convoluted project portfolio management software.
 

 
I believe resource, portfolio, and project management is going to continue to see decent growth in 2009 based on our CIO contacts and industry metrics.  SaaS will make up the vast majority of this growth as traditional enterprise players rush SaaS versions out the door and established players continue to target the SMB market.

However – VCSonline new customers sign-ups has exploded.  We are seeing an over 200% increase in new SaaS customers in the last 6 months, far outpacing even the industry darlings like Daptiv, Innotas, and @Task.

I will share something as to why I believe we are growing, hiring, and far outpacing the industry while competitors like Daptiv go through massive layoffs.