At a Salesforce.com event last week Deloitte provided insight into how SaaS is altering the methods it uses when working on deployment projects.
Projects are getting more complex with demand for heavy-duty implementations rising as businesses connect discrete Salesforce.com deployments. Deloitte partner Robert Bryant also said deployments are more global in nature. In addition, clients are thinking up more extensive use cases. Consequently, one of Deloitte’s roles is to manage down clients’ plans to a realistic level.
This is central to successful SaaS deployment given that clients will be thinking of short deployment timeframes - Deloitte works on the basis of one week of up front design plus a 6-7 week build period. But short timeframes create their own problems. In order for the services provider to be agile, the client has to be too – where decisions are needed, the client needs to make them quickly if the project deadline is to be met. So, as part of its SaaS deployment methodology, the provider trains clients on pertinent issues such as governance, and also provides tools to help speed the project along.
Deloitte has developed a neat application built on Salesforce.com’s Chatter that enables ongoing interactions between the Deloitte team and the client. Having followed/participated in the discussions, decision makers can act quickly when a decision is needed. According to Bryant, this has been instrumental in helping it deliver projects on time. It also provides a useful decision/audit trail that can be valuable in the event of a dispute.
Deloitte’s experience illustrates some of the less obvious changes service suppliers need to make to ensure SaaS works for them. It also demonstrates how pervasive SaaS has become on the supplier as well as the client side and the role it can play in helping rapid project delivery, which should have positive implications on project delivery and margins.