LOOKING TOWARD SAAS/ON-PREMISE HYBRIDS
While we are waiting for the wonderful world of SaaS to emerge in the financial software world, there’s going to be a period in which hybrid business environments dominate. That’s not an earthshaking conclusion. But the fact that vendors are increasingly describing that world shows a growing consensus about the short-term product path. At Barclays Capital Global Technology Conference this week, Epicor’s CFO Michael Pietrini told investors that the adoption rate of SaaS remains slow in the ERP industry.
He touted Epicor 9 and the companion SaaS product and noted that while Epicor 9 is hot, the SaaS product has seen slower sales. But Pietrini outlined a scenario under which the two are likely to be used in the same company. Suppose, he said “Corporate is running manufacturing run on premise, and run small satellite office in Argentina. That is getting some traction.” Similarly, Martin Janmaat, Exact’s CEO, foresees a very gradual transition from on-premise to SaaS, particular at the low-end of the mid-market. “You’ll see people embark on hybrid solutions,” he said.
