When It Comes To SaaS, IT Isn't DrivingWhen It Comes To SaaS, IT Isn't Driving

So, about this software as a service trip we're on. IT team, your jobs depend on keeping us on the road and out of the ditch. Oh, you know you're not actually driving, right? And you're not picking the car we use. Or the destination.Yeah, one more thing--we're going to be driving crazy fast.

That's pretty much how I'd feel, as an IT pro reading our cover story on software as a service ("Why You Need A SaaS Strategy", by Michael Biddick). The article's exclusive research quantifies some realities about SaaS:

* Speed is the most-cited reason to implement SaaS. With today's pent-up IT demand, and layoff-battered staffs, that will hold very true the first half of this year.

* Two-thirds of the time, IT isn't driving the SaaS decision, it's another business unit or C-level exec.

* Most organizations take an ad hoc approach to SaaS, rather than making it part of a larger strategic effort.

This last finding's the most troubling. There's nothing wrong with business units, not IT, driving SaaS decisions--if those decisions fit a strategy, so everyone understands details such as who'll support them, what the bandwidth impact is, and what security checks are necessary. Otherwise, the ditch beckons.

That leads to the second piece of our cover story--9 key elements to crafting a SaaS strategy. You can read our cover story free here, and buy the in-depth report including complete research findings here.

What's the right role for IT as SaaS expands? Share your ideas.

Here are a few related Global CIO posts we've done on SaaS of late: Will Panasonic Deal Give Lotus Cloud Cred? Global CIO: 5 Points To Make When Your CEO Cries Cloud Boomi CEO: EDI Lives On In SaaS World Global CIO: Will Google Miss Its Moment In Enterprise IT?