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It is always great to have your thoughts echoed by a well known research organization. According to Gartner research vice president Matt Cain "one of the largest sectors of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model is email services, an especially attractive option for small businesses". In a recent crn.com article, it was reported that during a talk at the Everything Channel Midsize Enterprise Summit West conference on Monday, Cain highlighted the growing popularity of the SaaS email model. "There's been more change in the last year-and-a-half for email than there has been in the last 19 years," Cain said. "Most organizations over time will be moving away from local storage and email." SaaS email solutions are particularly valuable for small businesses, which often do not have the IT resources to customize or maintain complicated technology - the flexible pay-as-you-go structure is especially important, as it can reduce their IT and even energy costs. However, once the email system becomes more complicated - such as with larger companies that have stringent security or integration needs - the hosted model becomes less feasible. Cain said that over time that will change, as the SaaS model matures further, but for now small businesses are the ideal SaaS email clients. Well, this is exactly our position. And going a step further, I would like to assert that small businesses will not just be looking for SaaS services, but a bundle of email and collaboration tools. This is because of the interrelatedness of collaboration tools and email, and the fact that companies are becoming more and more used to applying SaaS collaboration tools for day to day work. This accounts for the emergence of integrated messaging and collaboration suites like Google Apps and Microsoft BPOS. However, online collaboration software vendors like HyperOffice, which offer integrated solutions, and have a good foothold in the small business niche shall find themselves in a position of strength.Â
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