Cubic Compass Software
Kübler-Ross Model For Accepting SaaS
Adopting SaaS and cloud computing does not have to be such a grievous process, yet I witness so many people going through the stages below that it makes me wonder how applicable the Kübler-Ross 5 Stages of Grief model may be to this process?

Denial
  • "Cloud computing is a re-invention of what we've been doing for years on mainframes"
  • "SaaS is just a fad"
  • "Host our data offsite? No way! That's not secure. We can manage our data better than anyone else"
  • "We've done it this way for years. I see no point in changing now"
Anger
  • "Why are you singling out my project for replacement by SaaS?"
  • "I can install/configure a better [software solution] in-house!"
  • "Why is my budget being slashed? That's not fair!"

Bargaining
  • "Just let me add a couple more hard disks to the Exchange server. That will increase everyone's inbox storage to 2GB per person"
  • "We purchased this software on a 5 year ROI plan. Let's just ride it out and wait for the next upgrade. Vendor X says our needs will be met in the next release"
  • "Let's just outsource the ongoing maintenance of our datacenter to offshore resources and focus on strategic initiatives in-house"
  • "There's an open source solution I'd like to try installing and maintaining in-house"

Depression
  • "What's the point? Business managers will subscribe to any service they find on the Internet"
  • "The whole economy is in the tank. If it's bad for me, it must be bad for everyone"
  • "The company is going to die. Why doesn't someone just let me go?"

Acceptance
  • "I suppose SaaS vendor X really can do this job faster, better, cheaper since that is all they focus on"
  • "I can retrain and get certified for SaaS solution X"
  • "Technology goes obsolete all the time. This is just the next evolutionary cycle"

Am I missing any other common comments?

Posted: Friday, December 26, 2008 6:50:41 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #   
Comments [2]  | 
Friday, December 26, 2008 7:18:25 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
There is the most commonly heard from ISVs - It will canabalize my licensed sales and cost me money! (not realizing that when a competitor comes out with there SaaS version it will canabalize their sales and give them nothing in return!)
Michael Dunham | mdunhamAT NOSPAMsciodev dot com
Friday, December 26, 2008 7:38:16 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
Microsoft conceded at the latest PDC that browser-based office applications are not only possible, but in demand (even if they may steal license revenue from WinOffice apps).

However, there are probably 1,000 Mgrs trying to figure out how to use web office as a trojan horse for Silverlight, or some other client-side app... so not likely to "accept" SaaS principles from a consumer perspective :-)
Mike Leach | mikeAT NOSPAMcubiccompass dot com
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