Analysts: Where is (and isn't) SaaS headed?

SaaS is now moving toward greater success in online backup, Web conferencing, and some other areas, but not really in either integration or business intelligence, say Forrester Research analysts.

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) originally got off the ground with customer relationship management and human resources applications, Forrester notes in a new report. But although SaaS will keep gaining ground in those two areas, SaaS will also pick up considerable momentum in online backup, Web conferencing, collaboration, and IT systems management, the analysts predict.

New applications in integration and BI will also spring up, but these will show only limited success, according to the report.

"Firms should not expect any magic integration solutions, SaaS or otherwise," Forrester warned in a summary of the report. Furthermore, for its part, the SaaS BI space is still "largely unproven," with many users "still skeptical as to its potential, particularly where large volumes and real-time data transfer are concerned."

Among the applications expected to show significant success, Web conferencing is "an ideal candidate for SaaS, and many companies are comfortable using the technology as SaaS," the analysts observed. "Forrester's market data has shown SaaS collaboration to be one of the hotter areas of SaaS adoption."

ITSM applications are also already growing in popularity, although many of the larger vendors haven't yet entered this market.

Online backup is evidencing strong interest, as well, particularly among small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), individual PC users, and branches of enterprises in remote locations. Yet one area of concern for SaaS backup revolves around "recovering large quantities of data in a short time frame."