|
|
|
|
|
|
Tools and Automation for the Software Development Lifecycle In this issue: **************************************************************** **************************************************************** Marc O'Brien is the founder and CEO of Projity, makers of Software as a Service (SaaS) project manager Project-ON-Demand. In this interview, he discusses some of the SaaS tools that he uses and how they are different from traditional, installed software solutions. Joey McAllister: What tools do you use in a given work day? Marc O'Brien: Project-ON-Demand, of course, for managing Projity's various projects. We have many initiatives ... and it is very important for any exec to understand the status of his organization's internal projects. Salesforce.com for our CRM. They are a fellow SaaS vendor, and our products are integrated. I can see my Projity Project-ON-Demand information in my Salesforce.com account, so it is very efficient with the SaaS solutions integrated. JM: How do these tools make you more productive or efficient? MO: Quite seriously. Project-ON-Demand is a SaaS solution. It is
irrelevant that it is a Projity solution; it is available
immediately for productivity. This is the same with
Salesforce.com. There is no installation required with SaaS
solutions. Our solutions are complete replacements over
installed software, so you don't sacrifice functionality but you
do gain There is a huge productivity hit when you end up going to purchasing, waiting, installing, and integrating software. The SaaS model is not for everyone, but we are a poster child for the benefits, particularly with a group in Europe and the United States. JM: How did you first decide to incorporate these tools into your work? MO: Our company has many Linux machines, so that directed some of our need for cross-platform solutions. We also are part of
the open source and SaaS ecosystems, so we were in a JM: Based on your own experiences and projects, do you think that people are rushing toward Web-based solutions? MO: There is clearly a general migration to Web-based solutions. The inflection point has been reached, and there is no reversing the trend. This is true not only for the SME market but up to the enterprise level. It is about productivity improvements much more than the additional cost savings realized with the SaaS model. In Projity's case, there is no installation and worldwide teams can work together and manage their projects in a browser. We see this across the board with other solutions as well. In a nutshell, the migration to Web-based solutions has passed the point of industry testing the waters. It is now clearly understood as a more efficient method of application delivery. JM: What are some situations in which SaaS might be a less likely solution? Do you see these as opportunities for expansion in the future, or are there just some circumstances in which SaaS might never be the best route? MO: Our view of SaaS involves the Project-ON-Demand projects hosted on our data center. This provides many advantages as there is no installation, support, or upgrades required. There are others that are more liberal in their definition and include Web-based solutions internally installed. In this case, the data resides on the company servers. This adds cost, complexity, installation, upgrade cycles, etc. However, the data residence is controlled by the organization. I don't think we'll see Department of Defense project plans on the Projity datacenter. However, we have many Fortune 100 and highly proprietary projects that are effectively managed with Project-ON-Demand. JM: How does the process of integrating SaaS solutions compare to integrating traditional software between vendors? MO: There are many advantages for SaaS vendors in integrating.
The term "mashups" drives me nuts, and I'm not sure it will
stick around, but there is a movement for the integration of Are you using Software as a Service in your organization? What products are you using, and how is SaaS helping (or not helping) your work? Email me at jmcallister@sqe.com to keep the conversation going! **************************************************************** **************************************************************** The STAREAST 2008 Live Podcasts http://www.stickyminds.com/podcasts **************************************************************** "Agile Reporting and Metrics: Project Intelligence for Successful Software Delivery" The latest Web seminar brought to you by StickyMinds.com and Better Software magazine * Sponsored by ThoughtWorks * Learn from and discuss with three of the world's foremost agile metrics experts about what metrics you should be tracking, how to inform management and other stakeholders of project progress, and which tools help identify risks. Join us June 24, 11 a.m. ET. Register and attend this Web seminar to be automatically entered into our drawing for an iPod Shuffle! http://www.sqe.com/go?WS062408TL **************************************************************** **************************************************************** It's hard to be the only person writing about something other than the new iPhone, but I'm going to make an effort. It's likely that if you're the sort of person who would enjoy this month's Outside the Toolbox item, you've already seen it. But for those of you who really need this but don't know it yet, And titanium is some serious stuff. You could use this for eating, for gardening, for mining precious minerals ... and, I'm certain, for something related to software development. Email me at the address below if you figure out what that is. Find out more about the titanium spork by visiting http://www.stickyminds.com/TitaniumSpork. Know of any fun or unusual tools, toys, or other items that might be slightly outside the software development toolbox? Tell me about them by sending an email to jmcallister@sqe.com. **************************************************************** STARWEST 2008 - Software Testing Analysis & Review Conference **************************************************************** To change your email address or update your preferences, go to http://www.stickyminds.com/eletters.asp?fx=change. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.stickyminds.com/eletters.asp?fx=unsub. To ensure optimal receipt of these emails, please add stickytoollook@lists.stickyminds.com to your address book or all messages from @lists.stickyminds.com to your email white list. **If this eLetter has been forwarded to you by a friend, you can register for your own free subscription to Sticky ToolLook at http://www.stickyminds.com/eletters.asp. SOFTWARE QUALITY ENGINEERING |
|||