Here is a synopsis of an excellent article by Fergus Gloster, Senior VP EMEA, at salesforce.com, Busting the Myths About SaaS:

A recent conference in Dublin heard that a third of traditional software projects fail. CIOs in large organisations are under increasing pressure from business units to deliver usable technology more quickly. As markets slow, business users can ill afford to wait around for 18 months while an on-premises software development is rolled out.

Speed, ease of implementation, no capital investment costs and rapid return on investment have been the driving force behind the growth of Software as a Service (SaaS). But can it deliver to enterprise the benefits it has demonstrated across SMEs?

I believe there are four great myths when it comes to enterprise implementation of SaaS…

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Here’s a fabulous article by Gene Marks, CPA and owner of the Marks Group, that can help small business owners to identify when they should be considering a new technology investment, The Technology Tipping Point:

We’re all faced with moments in our lives where the decision to do something or take action is made crystal-clear. Small business owners face the same decision points when buying technology. Some guys I know can purchase a six-figure piece of equipment for their factory without blinking an eye, but agonize over a $5,000 software purchase for years. When exactly is the right time to spend the money? Is there a tipping point?

There is, and there’s a way to anticipate when you’ll hit it. Here are a few key technologies that business owners will be faced with buying or replacing during the next few years. We’ll be hearing a lot of hype and sales pitches from technology people telling us what to do. Don’t be distracted by the yammering. Just pay attention to your tipping point.

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Here’s are several excerpts from an informative article by Darren Dahl, Trust Me: You’re Going to Love This:

When it comes to instituting new technical systems, up to 70 percent of IT projects wind up as flops, according to Forrester Research.

In many cases, the new systems — whether hardware, software, or Web-based applications — sit idle because employees either find them too difficult to use or simply refuse to try.

“IT projects fail not because of the technology but because human beings resist change and uncertainty,” says Moez Limayem, who chairs the information systems department at the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.

Here are a few ways to get your employees on board with your next upgrade:

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Here’s a useful free web-based utility for calculating pay-per click advertising ROI:

With marketing budgets tighter than ever, business owners must make every dollar count and wring more return out of their online advertising investment. By using this FREE tool to calculate your ROI before launching an ad campaign, you can fine-tune your strategy and more accurately forecast your budget.

Using the Pay-Per Click ROI Calculator, you can calculate your return on investment for different online advertising campaigns. Simply enter your advertising campaign parameters, including the number of clicks purchased, the cost-per-click, expected response rate, and average purchase to calculate your projected ROI instantly.

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Here are several excerpts from an excellent article by Thomas Wailgum, senior editor with CIO.com, 5 Questions to Ask Before You Say Yes to SaaS:

Not surprisingly, SaaS vendors have decided there’s no time like the present to make a full court sales press. In a down economy with slashed IT budgets, when there’s no tolerance for 18-month software implementations and the price tags for on-premise software from Oracle and maintenance fees from SAP applications are not falling, software-as-a-service and cloud computing offerings become more attractive options for businesses.

Gartner recently noted that worldwide SaaS revenue in the enterprise application markets was on pace to surpass $6.4 billion in 2008, which is a 27 percent increase from 2007 revenue of $5.1 billion. By 2012, Gartner predicted, the market is expected to reach $14.8 billion.

Here are five important considerations that business leaders and IT staffers must think about before they sign a SaaS contract…

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