Can telcos sell SaaS to SMEs?
An article from SearchSMB.com discusses telco plans to promote and deliver software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions to SMEs (or SMBs in their parlance). Sinclair Schuller over at SaasBlogs (who put me onto this article) thinks telcos can be successful in this space, given they already sell so many other services to SMEs, and few other channels are as ready or as accessible.
BT in Britain looks like it gets it, and is pitching hard at SMEs. During my recent UK visit, BT was running a great ad campaign with a restaurant kitchen brigade in total chaos while Gordon Ramsey tries to wire up his PC with a big cook’s knife. BT’s line is to offer its help with IT products, implementation and support, leaving the business owner free to concentrate on the business. SaaS is the obvious (and openly acknowledged) next step in the plan.
Elsewhere, it will take a significant shift in mindset- most telcos’ IT solutions are either basic ISP services (Xtra) or corporate IT (Gen-i). There’s a big hole in the middle. Could Telecom in NZ or Telstra in Oz sell Xero and other SME SaaS solutions?
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