Software as a service has been a big buzzword in Silicon Valley technology circles for a number of years. It finally seems to be filtering to the independent telcos, as evidenced by last month’s OPASTCO-Microsoft venture and this week’s announcement at NTCA’s Annual Expo that Goldfield Telecommunications and Communigate are partnering to bring the latter’s technology to independent telcos.
As reported previously in the Viodi View, Communigate offers a a communications suite, based on Adobe’s Flash and Flex 2 technology, which promises to integrate communications and multimedia applications via multiple devices, such as computers, cell phones, personal digital assistants and IPTV set-tops. This approach of software as a service is ideal for the SOHO or small business looking to offload some or all of the hassles and costs of I.T. support.
In short, software as a service makes for more sticky customers. On a personal note, having used software services such as Google (mail servers) and Oracle’s Upshot (Customer Relationship Management), I am convinced that most small businesses will migrate to this approach over time. Software services could be great addition to a telco’s broadband bundle.
