Editor's Note: Remember that if you find this subject interesting, you can sign up for a live panel discussion on SOA and Web 2.0, scheduled for March 19, 2008.

SaaS is the delivery of software applications on a hosted platform accessed through the Internet using a web browser and typically priced on a pay-as-you-go basis. Business Process Management (BPM) refers to software programs that enable the design, automation, analysis, and optimization of business processes.

SaaS application deployments are 50 percent to 90 percent faster with a total cost of ownership (TCO) five to ten times less than that of traditional on-premise installed software applications¹. SaaS solutions decrease both project risk and deployment times by reducing an organization’s reliance on scarce IT resources and shifting software expenditures from capital budgets to operating budgets.

Gartner, a leading market-research firm, performed a study of 154 completed BPM projects and found that 95 percent were successful. Gartner also reported that 50 percent of these BPM projects were completed in less than four months and that 55 percent of the projects had returns in the $100,000 to $500,000 range². A 2007 survey of 236 organizations by CIO Insight magazine found that “improving business processes” was the second most important business priority for IT organizations in 2007 behind “Delivering better service to customers” but ahead of such categories as “coming up with innovative new products and services,” “cutting costs,” “generating more business from new and current customers,” and “improving workforce productivity”³.

Combining BPM and SaaS does more than just meld two leading value propositions. It opens a new world of flexible and affordable modern enterprise composite application development, and creates a new model of development and distribution for value-added providers. This article will explore those opportunities, and examine the technology requirements for realizing the benefits of SaaS BPM.

Creating New Opportunities