Jeffrey Kaplan

Cloud computing is quickly evolving from a topic of debate to a corporate imperative for organizations of all sizes. While many spent the past year trying to clearly define and understand the value of cloud computing – the ‘what’ and ‘why’ – nearly every market research survey suggests a growing number of IT and business […]

Everywhere you look there are clouds on the horizon. In fact, talk of the ‘Cloud’ has moved from industry trade pubs to you living room with a barrage of new consumer-oriented ads from Microsoft and others toting the virtues of Cloud Computing. The consumerization and democratization of IT, which was sparked by an explosion of […]

Unlike past tech trends, the rapid growth of the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and broader Cloud Computing market is being driven by real customer demand rather than overhyped vendor promises. However, rising adoption of these ‘on-demand’ service alternatives to traditional, on-premise software and systems is attracting a widening array of established ‘legacy’ vendors who too often are […]

One of the biggest challenges facing the U.S. is how to strengthen our schools in order to maintain our competitiveness in the global marketplace. And to do so in an increasingly tough economic climate. Fortunately, a growing array of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Cloud Computing vendors are demonstrating that they can significantly improve the effectiveness of […]

The rapid growth of Cloud Computing has inspired various prognostications regarding a looming battle between the legacy hardware and software vendors of the past and a new generation of more nimble, web-oriented service providers. While there is no question that the competition between these two camps is intensifying, we are also seeing a widening array […]

The latest aspect of the business world to benefit from a rapidly evolving set of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions is inter-enterprise processes, such as e-procurement and supply-chain systems. These essential, yet historically cumbersome and costly operations, are becoming much more efficient thanks to today’s powerful SaaS alternatives. The SaaSification of the software industry has evolved in […]

For the past decade, hosting companies have made a comfortable living offering relatively undifferentiated (i.e., ‘vanilla’) services to a wide array of corporate customers. Now, the rapid growth of cloud computing is changing the competitive landscape and resetting customer expectations for hosting services. Traditional hosted and managed storage, web hosting and application management services have […]

One of the unique benefits — not yet fully realized — of the emerging cloud computing trend is also one of the most controversial aspects of today’s on-demand services. It’s the ability of smart cloud vendors to capture valuable user data and put it to good use on behalf of their customers. Not to resell […]

Everyone’s talking about cloud computing and Gartner has named it the top strategic technology in 2010. Yet, many CIOs and other IT managers I talk with are still trying to understand what cloud computing really means for their organizations and their own jobs. And, the irony is that a growing number of people within their […]

I’ve been talking about the benefits of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for so long it always amazes me when I have to go back to basics to help the uninitiated understand the fundamental benefits of today’s online, on-demand software solutions. So, here’s my quick list of the top ten reasons why business and IT decision-makers should start […]