SaaS: Service Providers Predict Google Will Beat Microsoft

Five years from now, Google — rather than Microsoft — will dominate the software as a service (SaaS) market, according to 48 percent of managed service providers who participated in MSPmentor’s reader poll for the week ended January 30, 2009. Here’s a closer look at the poll stats — and a surprising snub involving Oracle.

MSPmentor asked its readers “Five years from now, who will dominate SaaS?” Exactly 100 readers participated in the poll, and responded as follows:

We realize the poll isn’t scientific and Google fans may have stuffed the ballot box. Plus, Google could be front-of-mind with readers because the company just launched its Google Apps Reseller program — though Google continues to hit some bumps with its SaaS strategy.

Paging Larry Ellison

Meanwhile, are readers underestimating Larry Ellison and Oracle? Lots of small SaaS companies (many of them listed on our SaaS 20 Stock Index) are prime targets for Oracle’s acquisition dollars.

But so far, Oracle (and SAP and Lawson Software) have mostly downplayed the SaaS opportunity to customers, partners and investors, notes Jeff Kaplan at THINKstrategies. I bet that will change within two years.

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