Designing SaaS for Enterprise Adoption Based on Task, Company, and Value-Chain Context

Although the positive impact of cloud computing seems obvious for both big and small companies, the adoption rate of services associated with it has not reached the levels that were expected. In the case of software as a service (SaaS), the adoption rates of the different application types are not homogeneous. Some well-established application types, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, have lower adoption rates as compared to other applications, such as customer relationship management (CRM) systems. Understanding the drivers of this phenomenon can help software companies design more successful SaaS applications. In this study, we present a framework that can help software companies evaluate the application-cloud fit, along with two strategies that enhance cloud application adoption.