The convergence of MSPs and SaaS providers

Jeff Kaplan has another great post up, wherein he expounds on how SaaS providers are helping to equip the channel as "managed service providers." Reading it brought to relief the confusion that often reigns around "SaaS" and "MSPs."

Any technologist that has been around the block remembers the "ASPs" (application service providers) of the late 90s. ASPs were supposed to be all the rage, and were some of the mostly hotly traded stocks during the dot-com bubble. When the bubble burst, ASPs withered on the vine (for the most part). 

Fast forward to the early 00's, and "software as a service" is "born." Folks like Phil Wainewright have done extensive writing about what actually defines "SaaS" vs. "ASPs" -- but, needless to say, an application that was provided "as a service" pretty much rounded out a good definition of "SaaS."

So, where then, do we place "MSPs," or managed service providers? The details of what distinguishes MSPs from SaaS providers is still an area of contention, but from my chair, I see an eventual convergence of the two (in reality).

That sense is why we themed this year's SaaScon as "Seizing the Value of Business Services." At the end of the day, whether you're a SaaS provider or a "business service" provider, you're providing a *result* to a customer. Whether that result is video conferencing, a dial tone, or a CRM/HR/Expense management solution, it is still a business service.

Am I saying that phone service providers belong at SaaScon? Of course not. But it is interesting to watch as service providers like Verizon Business Services, British Telecomm, and ADP enter business areas that can clearly be defined as "software as a service."

After the next boom and bust (and boom), none of us will look back and be able to define the difference between an MSP and a SaaS provider. All that we'll know is that the delivery of the service that software promises (ie, better business) is all that mattered.

The proof of "SaaS" really is in providing a result.