• By Marc Lehmann | CEO of Saasu.com Edge of the Web 2008 SaaS as an Ecosystem
Sep 06, 2014
• By Marc Lehmann | CEO of Saasu.com
Edge of the Web 2008 SaaS as an Ecosystem
The Nature of Sustainability...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelpecirno/
• Social• Economic• Environmental
The Nature of Sustainability...
• Balanced ecosystems• Communities of species
The Nature of Sustainability...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seier/
• Consuming less• Sharing more
Software as a Service (SaaS)?SaaS Ecosystem Sustainability...
• Shared servers• Shared server infrastructure• Shared platforms• Shared services
(backups, upgrades, support and security)• Shared development
(agile development, subscription funded)• Shared people and ideas
Ecosystem
• A natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical factors of the environment
SaaS Ecosystem
• A natural unit consisting of all users, developers and stakeholders in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical factors of the internet.
Why SaaS Ecosystems?It’s About Being Online...
• any process, technology or behavior that inserts delay, restricts access or denies re-use inhibits the ecosystem
SaaS Ecosystem Makeup
• Biotic + Abiotic
Biotic Elements
• Consumers• Employees• Developers• Investors
Abiotic Elements
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gi/
• Applications• Network• Platforms• Web construct
SaaS Ecosystems are about...
• Mutually beneficial relationships
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cesarastudillo/
SaaS Ecosystems are about...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kozumel/
• Getting past the limits of pure capitalism.(just billing each other isn’t always best)
SaaS Ecosystems are about...
• Non-financial payoffs• doing things because it’s the right thing to do• getting your application connected to others in
the ecosystem
SaaS Ecosystems are about...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sir_mervs/
• Alternative payment timelines• Sow now and reap later• Good will and loyalty
SaaS Ecosystems are about...
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• Indirect benefits• X builds an API connector for Y• X gets new business from Z
SaaS Ecosystem participants...
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• Are passionate because it’s not just about the money. It’s about building amazing apps that get people excited.
SaaS Ecosystem participants...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/activeside/
• Have their own personal online ecosystem within a larger online ecosystem
SaaS Ecosystem participants...
• Are more likely to grow and share their data• Share data about their data (meta)• BUT it must be with permission = integrity
SaaS Ecosystem participants...
• Test out their ideas in the community• Share discovered widgets and connectors
SaaS Ecosystem participants...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/opendemocracy/
• Won’t trade profits for principals, trust and credibility (but some have tried to).
SaaS Ecosystem participants...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/steren/
• Tend to give more permission
SaaS Ecosystem participants...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfraven/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/epitti/
• Are symbiotic in their behaviour
SaaS Ecosystem Participants...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/suewaters/
• Share ideas at #EOTW and BarCamp!
SaaS Ecosystem participants...
• Share in enterprise level utility infrastructure instead of running their own.
SaaS Ecosystems participants...
• Are full of explorers, the fuzzy knowledge worker kind
SaaS Ecosystems are changing the tech environment
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jvetterli/
• It’s no longer just about fee for service• The reward is the results of the group• The reward is participation and belonging
SaaS Ecosystems are re-writing economic rule books.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21804434@N02/
• The reward may not be a $’s. Helping people in their tribe (and newbies to join their tribe).
SaaS Ecosystems are creating...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/green4all/
• Lots of greencollar workers
• Companies whichare more sustainable
Service is a conversation inSaaS Ecosystems
• Sales opportunities• Co-development• Build loyalty, trust and retention• Add new people to your ecosystem• Encourage peer to peer support
SaaS Ecosystem Enablers…
• Social networks• Social communications• Connectors• Applications• Citizen Journalism• Web industry associations
SaaS Ecosystem Rulebook...
• Vertical Apps• iPhone Apps• Web2.0 Apps• Connectors• SaaS on PaaS
• Bespoke Appsnot allowed!
SaaS Ecosystem Rulebook...
• Connectable• “Get My”• “Synch My”• “Import My”• “Post My”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nez/
SaaS Ecosystem Rulebook...
• Leverage Tools• Degrees of separation engines
• Facebook, LinkedIn etc.• Information leverage
• Feeds, Blogs & Forums• Communication leverage
• Live and/or delayed - Twitter• Aggregating - FriendFeed
SaaS Ecosystem Rulebook...
• I don’t want to revisit my tech investment!• I Expect:
• Free upgrades• Instant deployment• Connectors maintained
Ecosystem lesson’s from nature...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paparutzi/
• Nature doesn’t customise once, it replicates improved features across species incrementally & without charging for them. Genetic source-code.
Ecosystem lesson’s from nature...
• Standards facilitate the simplicity of evolution but “evolve or die” as Charles Darwin said.
Ecosystem lesson’s from nature...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdickert/
• Nature invents by testing genetic variations within the ecosystem. So do humans.
• Ecosystems facilitate change in standards.
Ecosystem lesson’s from nature...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nez/
standard display+strange navigation
• Genetic variations are often strange.• Strange advantages leading to strange
creatures
Ecosystem lesson’s from nature...
• Strangeness is good. It’s an opportunity for improvement
• “Strangeness is a consequence of innovative thinking”, Ross Lovegrove
Ecosystem lesson’s from nature...
• Ecosystems organically engineer:• redundancy - multiple offspring• backups - genetic memory• venture capital - mutations• testing - survival of the fittest• mobility - organ and appendages evolve
Ecosystem lesson’s from nature...
• Nature buys lots of cheap options through a multiplicity of genetically varied offspring.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/idalingi/
Ecosystem lesson’s from nature...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jiggapotpie/
• Nature is the original Venture Capitalist• Nature is an extreme A/B tester
The SaaS Ecosystem also tests...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nswlearnscope/
• The SaaS ecosystem sets up lots of free accounts, many are just variations of an Application theme.
The SaaS Ecosystem also tests...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcopako/
• A few will survivebecause of strangeadvantages
The SaaS Ecosystem also tests...
• While nature votes out serious mistakes SaaS Ecosystem participants vote out Apps
Ecosystem Evolution...
EXPECTED + UNEXPECTED
• So a feature mix of what customers want (survival of the fittest) and unexpected mutations can rip
SaaS Ecosystem Evolution...
+ = ?
• Tend to seed blue ocean ideas• Why? Primordial web soup of tools, ideas
and execution
SaaS Ecosystem Evolution...
• To be in an ecosystem isn’t a choice• You’re in it and you use it in some way
(sometimes indirectly)
SaaS Ecosystem Evolution...
Cell Organism
You Ecosystem
LOW Awareness HIGH Awareness
• However, it doesn’t need you to survive. It’s bigger than you...and smarter.
SaaS Ecosystem Evolution...
• The ecosystem might need your variant or feature to evolve and improve
• Individuals ARE important
Why does theSaaS Ecosystem matter?
• Step away from evolution you stop evolving• Stop evolving = Danger. Extinction ahead!
Why does theSaaS Ecosystem matter?
• Consumers can now build from the best bits• The way we sell and buy is changing• People self design their solutions• People pick components from many variants• Un-permissioned product push is dying• The ecosystem is choosing ‘who buys what’
through tribal influence
Why does theSaaS Ecosystem matter?
• It will encourage consumers to only consume what they need
• Consumption becomes more efficient• Tendancy to buy virtual products such as
movies, music, content, apps, entertainment - Less physical ‘stuff’ and more ‘mental’ stuff
New SaaS ecosystem creatures...
• The All SaaS Enterprise (ASE)• Wants everything online for the many
advantageous reasons• Quietly wishing away operating systems• In a rush to get to the endgame of data and apps
existing in the cloud
New SaaS ecosystem creatures...
• The Distributed Enterprise• Many staff• Multiple locations• Communicate almost entirely online
New SaaS ecosystem creatures...
• The real SOHO• Work at home parents• Use technology very well
(Gmail, Skype, SaaS applications)• They use ecosystem resources• They push ideas, support and services back into
the community - peer to peer support
New SaaS ecosystem creatures...
• The Micro VC• Self funds widgets, blogs, targeted apps• Usually invest time more-so than dollars• Usually end up being a boot-strapper if it starts
to take off
New SaaS ecosystem creatures...
• The Bootstrapper• Concentrated risk on a single product• Self fund through small initial capital• Grow organically through cashflow• Engages ecosystems• Doesn't market traditionally
New SaaS ecosystem creatures...
• The Ecosystem Facilitator• Donate time to causes and products• Value relationships highly• They publish at a high rate• Speak about stuff they love and hate
New SaaS ecosystem creatures...
• The Idea Campaigner• Takes component or ideas of existing systems
and build new concepts• Will test the idea in the community sometimes
before even building it• The build is really fast and low cost but has
higher risk• Can be quite captured by organic and viral
conversations
New SaaS ecosystem creatures...
• The Tester• They try lots of stuff• There's a tester in all of us at this conference• They take the time to tell you what is good and
bad even if they aren't going to buy your product• They are brutally honest (mostly)
New SaaS ecosystem creatures...
• The App-Master• Use a handful of apps on which their business is built• They sell ads or products• Insert themselves into ecosystems around these apps• Example 1 - Proseller eBay traders are expert in
eBay, PayPal and the 3rd party apps that facilitate• Example 2 - Pro bloggers who master CMS,
Analytics, Adwords and other Ad apps• Business built on their ecosystem knowledge
Ecosystems get the thumbs up!
• Ecosystems Re-mix,re-invent, connect andevolve the webexperience.
Marc Lehmann
• Contact DetailsEmail: [email protected]: marclehTwitter: marclehmann
Web: saasu.comBlog: saasu.com/blogPersonal blog: marclehmann.netLinkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/marclehmann
Address: 1st Floor, 111 Elizabeth St Sydney, Australia 2000 Attribution-NoDerivs License