Open Source Shifts to Software-as-a-Service

Tracking open source software in 2014, particularly around Big Data, showcased a shift towards Software-as-a-Service models. It makes sense. Since open source is free, there is a natural tendency for users to see how far that approach can go before spending money on software.
With SaaS, there is an immediate connection to a Service (it’s in the name of course), plus the natural connection that we usually pay for services.

Startups moving Open Source to SaaS

A number of startups have launched new offerings that point in the SaaS direction. Last year Rackspace acquired ObjectRocket which at the time provided MongoDB as a service, and has since expanded to add Redis as well.
Starting in the summer of 2014 Databricks launched their Spark-based Cloud Platform at the Spark Summit. Watch the video from the summit if you want more on the Databricks Cloud.
In August, MongoHQ (another MongoDB as a service provider) changed their name to Compose.io and added Elastic Search, built on top of Apache Lucene. Since then Compose.io had added support for RethinkDB and Redis, and offers deployments on AWS, Digital Ocean, SoftLayer, and GoGrid.
Not to be left out, Apache Cassandra as a service appeared in September 2014 when Instaclustr announced $2 million in funding including participation from DataStax, the dominant provider of Apache Cassandra solutions.
In October 2014, MongoDB announced enhancements to the MongoDB Management Service, a cloud service to manage MongoDB deployments. Press stories played on the explanation to declare MongoDB targeting a ‘massive’ revenue stream.

Mapping Software Categories

In the spirit of Peter Thiel, I drafted a 2x2 matrix to understand four categories of software:

• In-house Development
• Commercial Software
• Open Source
• SaaS

On the X axis I added Predilection to Pay Someone Else, which gets back to the introduction of this post that there is a not-so-natural disposition to pay for open source software, and there is a much more natural disposition to pay for services, including those that deliver software.
On the Y axis I added Ease of Adoption with the intent to loosely categorize the time, energy, and money spent up front to deploy software.
The trends among startups recently has been centered in the shift depicted by arrow 1. However, other migrations are in effect from the popularity of commercial SaaS offerings like Salesforce, Box, and Workday, along with the ongoing march of AWS cloud domination.

Finding the Center of Data

In the pre-cloud days, most folks could point to the data center which housed all the important company information. Today, that concept has vanished into multiple cloud computing providers and SaaS solutions.
The center is shifting outside the data center. Interconnecting software and applications has become more important than having them in a one place, and enabling flexibility, mobility, pay-as-you-go, and ease of adoption will only further the SaaS bandwagon.
Have favorite examples of the open source to SaaS shift? Add them in the comments or send to me on Twitter @garyorenstein.

Building Effective Roadmaps

In technology companies, and perhaps more broadly, roadmaps drive alignment across groups to explain product plans and company direction. By keeping roadmap versions connected across different audiences, companies can operate more seamlessly with a consistent message and purpose.

Here are a few audiences to keep in mind in building a multi-purpose roadmap.

External Audiences

Align externally facing roadmaps across customers, investors, media, and analysts. Each may need a slight twist, but ensure they tie to a common core. Respective versions should:

• Set the vision and industry direction
  Create a simple, well-defined roadmap to share the vision and set the playing field.

• Communicate thought leadership
  Share uncharted paths you will tackle with your products and technology, but also tie into widely understood trends.

• Provoke and Inspire
  Customers will need an impetus to change from what they are currently doing, or to take net new action. Use a roadmap to help show them a step-by-step approach.

• Showcase Innovation
  Be seen as a long term partner, and detail innovations you bring to the table.

Internal Audiences

Across company functions like engineering, product, marketing, and sales, clear and defined roadmaps maximize company unity and minimize contention. When executed well, product and technology roadmaps drive:

• Alignment
  Keep teams together in solving customer problems.

• Common Understanding
  Allow individuals and groups to see the balance of near term and long term product introductions and directions.

• Focus
  Be realistic about products and maturity levels so people can count on the integrity of the information.

• Priorities
  Enable decision making to filter down with a set of common priorities conveyed in a roadmap.

• Teamwork
  Foster roadmap buy-in and collective ownership, encouraging departments to achieve a common objective.

Specific Audiences

Within company departments, I have found roadmaps provide:

• The Executive Team
  Common talking points to convey the company message internally and externally.

• Engineering
  A detailed framework to set the foundational technologies and tie exciting paths to products.

• Sales
  An industry and company view of a problem and solution so they can become partners with their customers.
  A more detailed product release view that they can use to qualify opportunities and deals.

• Marketing
  A playbook from which to create thought leadership content, corporate communications, and campaigns.

• Finance and Operations
  The planning mechanisms to understand how to deliver products and services and how to get paid for them.

Use Audiences to Streamline Roadmap Creation

Piecing together the details of a product, technology, and company roadmap takes time and energy to drive consensus. But by keeping audiences in mind through the process, you can hopefully gain in solving broader alignment in the company.

Got ideas?

Have more ideas on roadmaps? Leave a comment or drop a line on Twitter @garyorenstein.