Consumer SaaS vs. enterprise SaaS

First; for those of you not familiar with "SaaS" - Software as a Service, here's my simple definition of what it is: Software as a Service is the business of delivering software via a browser over the internet, typically enabling a range of customers to use the same single instance of the application. (I have written a few blogposts related to this topic previously without really explaining what it is, sorry:-)).

There are plenty of famous services on the internet that can be labeled SaaS. Over the last few years we have all become users of SaaS solutions like Google Apps, hotmail, youtube, facebook and del.icio.us. The service my employer offer, itslearning.com is also a typical SaaS solution, but there is a slight difference between the earlier mentioned services and our own. Our customers are educational institutions, or enterprises, while the more profiled solutions are consumer-based. But even if Facebook get's all the coverage, a significant industry is now developing for enterprise-based SaaS software (the most famous being salesforce.com).

From time to time opinionated people in the educational sector seems to think that services provided by the likes of company will be wiped of the face of the earth by the more profiled consumer-based services. Where it so easy. There are a number significant differences between Consumer- and Enterprise based SaaS that will require a good solution. But if you want to try and prove me wrong and put us out of business with a learning platform based on consumer-based technology, here's a list of differences between customer and enterprise SaaS that you might want to think about:

Characteristics	Consumer apps	Enterprise apps
Revenue model	Ad-based.	Subscription fees.
Sales	word-by-moth, trends.	Tenders, DM's, knocking on dors.
Data privacy	Vendor "owns" your personal data.	Enterprise keeps full ownership of data.
SLA	No (remember skype going down for two days?)	24/7 Availability guarantees, response time guarantees, financial, guarantees. The list goes on.
Support	Not directly. Community driven discussion groups, blogs, etc.	professional help desk.
Training	Hey, if you can't use it - why sign up for it?	professional training services.
Integration and customization	Generic API's.	Consulting services, 3rd party integrators.
Development road-maps.	Innovation. What will be the next trend that signs up more users?	A mix between innovation, strategic development for expanding market shares and pleasing existing accounts.

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