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SaaS
Oracle Edition
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These materials are 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorised use is strictly prohibited.
Table of Contents
Introduction........................................................ 1
Foolish Assumptions.................................................................. 1
How This Book is Organized..................................................... 2
Icons Used inThis Book............................................................. 3
Where toGo From Here............................................................. 3
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iv
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Introduction
dds are that youve heard a lot about the cloud in recent
years. If youre like most people, it was a pretty mysterious term at first, and you may still have plenty of questions
about what the cloud is and what it can do for you. You might
even be tempted to think that its just another Internet fad
that will come and go before most people get a chance to
figure it out.
Dont count on that. The cloud is for real, its here to stay,
and its not just for trendy millennials. In fact, the cloud has
increasingly powerful implications for businesses Thats
why the roster of companies offering cloud products does
not just include tech whiz kids working out of their garages.
Those offering amazing solutions in the cloud include some
of the biggest and most respected names in technology, such
as Oracle.
If your business wants to compete and win in the digital world
thats all around, youll need to make smart decisions about
technology. That quite possibly will include tapping into cloud
solutions for some functions, or lots of functions, ranging
from sales and marketing to human resources and finance to
customer service.
SaaS For Dummies is in your hands to help get your head in
the cloud. Read on to acquaint yourself with the many related
buzzwords and acronyms, and start to get a feel for the place
youll want to be in the digital world. Learn about the technology choices that increasingly are in the hands of those who run
business lines. Get up to speed on what the cloud can do for
youbut remember that you need to fully understand the business challenge you hope to solve before leaping into the cloud.
Foolish Assumptions
We dont know you, but we know you picked up this book, so
were going to make a few assumptions about you, the reader:
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You want to improve business efficiency and productivity, and youd really like to know more about how cloud
applications can help solve your business challenges.
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Introduction
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These materials are 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorised use is strictly prohibited.
Chapter 1
he Internet has provided an ever-moving target of gamechanging advances and technological jargon with which to
keep up. People in their middle ageswho are old enough to
remember going in-person to the library, researching through
card catalogs and actually using phones to speak with one
anotherare astounded to see concepts from science fiction
turn into reality. Those who are younger are amazed at the revolutions that have occurred constantly throughout their lives.
This chapter examines a small segment of these advances in
the way people and organizations handle their software, storage, networking, hardware, and other needs related to computers and communication devices. Its an alphabet soup of
acronyms and buzzwords.
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Whats limiting is the temptation to think of social as pertaining primarily to ones social lifelife away from work. In reality, the same digital trends driving personal use of Facebook
and Twitter have infected the working world, with applications
that allow unprecedented collaboration and communication
between coworkers, with customers, and among other occupational partners. Social technologies arent just about sharing
photos of cute kittens or reviews of new restaurantstheyre
revolutionizing business.
Theyre doing so in large part because these technologies
have become so incredibly mobile. There are now nearly as
many mobile devices out there as there are people on Earth.
Literally. Seven billion or more smartphones and tablets
are in the pockets and purses of human beings around the
globethats mobile technology on an unbelievable scale.
And there are so many useful things one can do on those
smartphones that a lot of users hardly ever actually talk on
them. (Of course, there are also a lot of comparatively useless things one can do with a smartphone, too, but everyone
needs a little frivolity now and then).
Making all of this possible are volumes and volumes of data.
The electromagnetic spectrum swirling invisibly around
your head is filled with data, zipping between networks and
devices, or from one device directly to another.
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Reduced upfront costs: Because SaaS is a subscriptionbased model, youre paying for the applications as you
use them, not all at once upfront. You can be up and running for a lot less capital at the outset.
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The concept, however, goes back a lot further than the name.
Consider the early mainframe computers, which users would
access through a network of terminals that did not have their
own processors. All of the work, all of the data storage, all of
the processingit all happened in a central place.
Todays cloud computing isnt totally analogous, to be sure,
as todays devices do the work of processing. But it pays
homage to that earlier model in which remote users were
linked in to a central hub of activity and derived their power
from that connection.
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Serving updata
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Beyond that, its a whole lot more powerful. With more centralized and accessible data, youre better able to leverage
that data into better business decisions, and spotting trends
becomes a whole lot easier.
Cloud Computing
Public orPrivate?
Cirrus, stratus, cumulus, cumulonimbus. There clearly more
than one kind of cloud. And theres also more than one kind of
cloud computing. In the broadest of terms, cloud computing
can be divided into two primary varieties: public and private.
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With a public cloud, each user gets a piece of the cloud environment. Its typically a pay-as-you-go model, great for users
whose needs are going to fluctuate a lot. Users generally
arent on any kind of contract, so theres lots of flexibility.
The hardware in a public cloud is shared. As a public cloud
tenant, your needs are being served by the same servers and
storage devices and networking that someone else is using.
You may wonder whether this poses a security issue, whether
your data will be safe on shared infrastructure, which is a
very good question to ask, because some cloud providers
have much more robust security than others. The answer is
that if you choose a provider carefully, you can sleep at night
knowing that your data is secure.
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out just fine. For some users with certain demanding needs,
its less than ideal, or even a deal-breaker, but it doesnt have
to be.
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Chapter 2
ow long has your business been around? A year? A hundred years? It doesnt really matter, because no matter
what kind of history you have, if you want a future youll need
to play by tomorrows rules.
This chapter explores the challenges inherent in being a
modern, digital businesswhy its important, whats in it for
you, and how businesses are approaching the opportunities
that cloud solutions offer.
Its the digital age, and whether you like it or not, new technologies will have a profound impact on your operations, your
relationship with customers, your interactions with employees,
your dealings with regulatorsyou name it, theres likely an
impact. To thrive in the digital age, you need to set your own
digital agenda. To be a successful modern business, you must
be a digital business. This isnt just a matter of technology; this
is transformation of the business as you know it.
Start with customers. Theyre all about the experience these
days. Sure, they still are demanding a top-notch product,
but theyre more particular than ever about what happens
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Suffice it to say that technology almost takes the back seat in the
world of the cloud. Oh yes, the technology is there, but its not
intrusive, not distracting you from what really matters: understanding how and where the cloud can make your business more
successful. That means businesses can make the most practical
decisions about what activities should and should not be put
into the cloud, instead of being bogged down by questions about
technology limitations
The answer, of course, is highly individual, very different from
one organization to the next. Some small businesses could
not even exist in their present configuration without cloud
technology, because theyve set up shop virtually, leaving the
bricks and mortar and vital equipment to someone else.
A small cloud-based business may employ a team spread
across different cities, working from their own offices (or even
their cars), perhaps maintaining their own flexible schedules.
The cloud can bring collaboration and a feeling of proximity
rivaling what these coworkers would have if they were all in
the same physical place, sharing ideas and responsibilities
and even water-cooler chatter.
These team members share access to the same project management systems, the same sales management applications,
and perhaps most important, powerful customer experience
solutions that allow them to deliver the kind of customer service one might expect more from a larger operation with a lot
more invested in bricks and mortar.
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Clearly, data security is a high priority, and breaches of security are in the headlines every day. Moving data to the cloud
doesnt necessarily make it more vulnerable than storing it on
onsite servers,
Compliance considerations may require highly specific security arrangements, and in some cases, they may dictate where
cloud servers are located.
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Chapter 3
ife may have been simpler when everyone wore just one
hat, but its a whole lot more colorful when you have
more hats to wear. Theres a lot more on the plate of those
people managing lines of business, but there are a whole lot
more answers, too.
This chapter explores how cloud-based solutions can help
department heads and business line leaders excel at their
exciting new responsibilities. It spells out some of the key
cloud opportunities for those involved in human resources,
finance, sales, marketing, and customer service.
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What would you do with better access to business intelligence? How could the ability to aggregate, access, and analyze
big data help you innovate and succeed? How would you take
advantage of the collaborative work opportunities brought
about by social technologies? These are just a few of the questions you can answer with the help of cloud-based solutions.
Even so, robust sales cloud solutions are so much more than
contact lists, schedules, and sources of prospects. They really
get to the heart of the challenges facing those in sales leadership roleshow do you put your perfect sales plan into
action and make it really fly?
On that level, the challenges revolve around getting the most
out of your sales force. As a vice president of sales, for example, its critical that you identify who your top performers
are, recognize them and keep them happy, while helping the
B team develop into top players, too. You need to provide the
best training at the outset, and be aware of coaching opportunities when theres still time to turn problems around.
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A cloud-based sales solution, such as Oracle Sales Cloud, provides answers to a lot of sales challenges. For example:
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Make it personal: Create data-driven customer experiences that are tailored to every visitor and viewer, yet
are unified across the various channels. Capture and display the online behavior and social interactions of customers and prospects. Ensure that your content strategy
speaks directly to the target, across the sales process.
Track revenue performance: Take smart action to optimize top-line growth by identifying revenue drivers and
monitoring performance.
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Keep an ear to the ground: Monitor social media channels for service-related comments and potential issues,
so that you can respond and engage customers proactively. Make sure social customer service is a key part of
your social media strategy.
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Convert shoppers to buyers: Build up your online service options to increase conversions to sales. Make
effective use of online chat, click-to-call, co-browsing and
virtual assistance to reduce shopping cart abandonment
and enhance opportunities to cross-sell and up-sell.
Not that the cloud can, in and of itself, work miracles. It takes
the right cloud solution to be able to handle both local HR
needs and the challenges that go along with a global organization. Like any other kind of cloud solution, one focused on
HR has to be an effective mix of social, mobile, and analytical
capabilities.
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Get everyone collaborating: Maximize knowledge sharing and collaboration among employees by giving them
access to such capabilities as social sourcing, social performance, social goal and career management, and social
learning.
Make information easy to access: Serve up HR applications and information wherever your staff might be, no
matter what kind of electronic device they might have in
their hands.
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Teach your employees well: Build a collaborative learning environment that delivers a combination of in-person
and online training tailored to the audience.
The job of chief financial officer these days isnt much like the
finance roles of old. Sure, CFOs are still all about maximizing
profits and keeping costs in line, but theyve added a strong
focus on creating value and investing in innovation.
Today, CFOs serve as a source for new insights driven by
data and analysis of operations. Theyre working closely with
business line leaders to solve old challenges and identify new
opportunities. CFOs have always looked to technology as a
way to automate, but today they are increasingly fans of technology as a means for driving value across the organization.
They have, in fact, found a lot to love about the cloud. They
appreciate its ability to reduce IT costs and increase predictability. But far beyond that, they recognize that digital
technologies and cloud-based solutions bring greater analytical capabilities and operational knowledge, they make such
advances more accessible through mobile platforms, and they
encourage collaboration through social channels.
Finance executives are embracing cloud technologies in large
numbers. One survey found that two-thirds have adopted
a cloud-based system for core financials or are working on
doing so. Even more are turning to the cloud for budgeting
and planning. They relish the opportunity to bring what was
a paper-based world into the digital future, with much greater
automation and web access.
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Put risks in their place: Spend less time reacting to unanticipated risks and direct more of your efforts toward
effectively mitigating them. Use cloud-based solutions
to gain a consolidated view of enterprise risks, spread
best practices, and strengthen the internal controls
framework.
Close those books quickly: Use the cloud to gain visibility into sub-ledgers across the organization, and leverage
collaboration tools to get through the close activities as
promptly as possible.
Make reports a snap: Stop spending so much time preparing financial reports, by using self-service reporting
capabilities. The benefit: more opportunity to analyze the
numbers using analytics built into cloud applications.
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Chapter 4
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But its best to take a step back first, and give some serious
thought to the kind of functionality that youll wantnot
just for this particular need, but for other needs that might be
related in one way or another. Determining what functionality
is required is the first step in deciding which platform is right
for your organization.
Get Personal
You may think of cloud solutions as being somewhat inflexible.
After all, arent you signing on for some software application
thats being hosted elsewhere and used by multiple different
clients? Isnt that part of the reason cloud solutions are so
cost-effective? Well, thats the way it was, and not all that long
ago, but it doesnt have to be that way.
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One more thing the IT folks (and everyone else) will love
is having control over upgrades and software updates. A
complaint that some have had about the cloud experience is
that software updates happen whenever the provider wants
them, and you as a user have to take them when they happen.
Upgrades might occur at inopportune times from a business
perspective, and they might mess up configurations that you
had gotten just right.
You also might wind up with quite a cloud bill. Any one of
these products is likely to offer a seemingly cost-efficient
solution to the problem it tackles, but add them all up and
the grand total might cause you some pain. When you write
checks to a bunch of different places, your ledger might not
be happy.
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As you explore your options, keep in mind that you may need
your cloud solutions to connect not only with one another, but
with on-premises applications, too. For various reasons, there
may be something important that you choose not to send to
the cloud, but that doesnt mean you dont want it invited to
the party. For example, perhaps you have accounting on premises, but prefer to handle procurement in the cloud for better
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Be Secure
No one has to tell you just how important security is. Just
pick up the papertodays, yesterdays, tomorrowsand
youre likely to find a headline about some company that suffered a data breach. Your cloud solution absolutely, positively
must be secure.
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keep up with the demands of the market, and can open the
doors to new markets.
In todays fast-paced competitive environment, being nimble
and scalable is absolutely essential. Being able to be what the
customer expects and requires is critical. Dazzling your prospects with capabilities they didnt even know they wanted
can be a game-changer. For most businesses, thats a far more
compelling argument than simply saving some money on
hardware.
That said, dont hesitate to point out the financial perspectives, because CFOs like that, too. Does your potential cloud
vendor offer financial incentives that can ease your way into
the cloud, making it more affordable than you thought to build
a truly integrated cloud package? Its worth asking, and you
just might end up with an answer thatll sell the CFO.
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Chapter 5
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Appendix 1
H
idea.
Is theCompany a Proven,
ViableProvider?
How can you tell? Consider these clues:
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Five to 10 years
Yes
No
Compliance
Industry regulations
Third-party audits
Yes
No
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Taking theQuiz
If you are already operating in the cloud and jotted down a
negative answer to more than half of these questions, you
can benefit from a more modern cloud solution. If youre on a
cloud provider search and a candidate cant offer satisfactory
answers to questions like these, keep looking.
As for the questions that can only be answered by open-ended
comments, check for answers that suggest room for improvement. Youll want to proceed carefully if these answers point
to serious room to improve. If youre already with a cloud
provider but the answers leave you jittery, give some thought
about how your organization might be impacted by modernizing your technology choices.
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