April was a vibrant month in the SaaS industry. From an exciting announcement about a new launch, to helpful myth busters that are guaranteed to shine some light on some of the factors it takes to build a successful SaaS startup, I’m sure you’ll learn as much as I did. Enjoy this month’s collection of articles!
Before you dive in – have you ever wondered how you can make onboarding faster and more efficient?
1. Which Commercial Models Make Mobile-Enterprise SaaS Start-Ups Successful?
Good news for all you SaaS providers out there! According to a new survey, some SaaS providers achiever greater value per customer than others. This is due to their business-productivity solutions, which ensure that the product can reach a larger audience, satisfying more customers. Author Peter Weed explains more interesting findings from this fascinating survey, comparing the results from two specific groups of early-stage SaaS providers.
2. The Myth of SaaS Ownership
Many people think that simply by working hard for a short period of time on your SaaS startup it will allow you to eventually sit back and watch the money flow in. Steven Bristol combats this popular yet unfortunately false myth, and explains that in order to run a successful SaaS company, you must learn how to manage your churn rates. Bristol lists 14 useful tips on how to run a successful SaaS startup, and stresses that one should always have reasonable expectations.
3. Squarespace Turns into Registrar with Launce of Squarespace Domains
Chris Burt discusses an exciting new launch- DIY website builders Squarespace has launched Squarespace Domains to compete with other “one-stop shops” for personal web pages. Squarespace will offer 200 top-level domains and offer an easy way for customers with existing domains to transfer to Squarespace. You definitely want to find out more about this new launch!
4. Microsoft’s Cloud Business Can’t Overcome Weak PC, Phone Sales
Read all about how Microsoft’s third quarter revenue and profits fell short of analyst estimates, which is due to weaker PC sales and a decline in Microsoft’s phone business. Jessica Davis talks about the unfortunate fact that Microsoft simply isn’t succeeding in increasing their revenue right now, despite the momentum of the more recent enterprise release of the SaaS version of the Office productivity suite. Find out why Microsoft’s revenue has decreased, and how they are in the process of making a comeback.
5. Open Source Cloud Apps: 65 Cloudy Apps
Cynthia Harvey talks about the growing popularity of open source cloud apps. Based on the fact that cloud computing is becoming more and more common, it is predicted that public cloud spending will increase drastically by 2019. Harvey pinpoints the most popular open source apps you can use in the cloud, and provides her readers with a helpful list for apps under topics such as Cloud Infrastructure and Management, Cloud Desktop, and more!
6. Disrupting The Pipeline: How Software Companies Are Changing The Sales Process
The sales process for the software industry has matured alongside with the SaaS industry itself. In his article, Mike Baker states that even the software companies are experiencing the same type of revolution, as more and more product teams are going agile, and marketing teams have gone digital. Baker talks about the important changes happening in SaaS sales, and what that means for your own company.
7. Intuit: How a “33-Year-Old-Startup” Plans to Use the Cloud to Reinvent Itself
In this interesting article, a unique and different topic is discussed. Intuit, a company that has been around for more than 30 years, plans to use cloud software in order to recreate its’ image. Nicole Henderson touches on some of the important things other companies can learn from this announcement. From remembering not to neglect your old customers when updating your company’s methods, to always be ready to accept new changes, there are some valuable lessons to be learned from Intuit’s decision.
8. 5 SaaS Metrics That You May Be Measuring Incorrectly
In one of my latest articles, I discuss a crucial topic that is essential to any company’s success. In SaaS businesses there are many important metrics that can’t be neglected. This article provides you with a detailed description of each metric, what they do, and how to utilize them to your company’s benefit.