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Carolina SaaS User Group Met with Open Arms in Charlotte
Wednesday, 10 October 2007
Industry educational endeavor posts record attendance by Charlotte and surrounding areas’ IT executives Technology is a critical topic when discussing economic climates within a region, especially in North and South Carolina which are respectively the 15th and 21st fastest growing technology sectors according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics. Nowhere was that more evident than at Bank of America Stadium on Tuesday afternoon where the Carolina Software as a Service (SaaS) User Group held their marquee event of the year.
The Carolina SaaS User Group, a forum where best practices, resources, and experiences within the SaaS vertical can be shared, had over 160 technology executives attend to learn more about the resources they need to succeed in the on-demand world, enabling them to develop and deliver solutions that leverage the full capabilities of the Internet. Keynote speaker, and one of the nation's foremost authorities in the SaaS vertical, Jeff Kaplan quotes: “It’s refreshing to see a grass roots initiative like the Carolina SaaS User Group emerge into to such a powerful concept within the local technology community.”
The event started off with a welcome message from Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory on the importance of technology in both the business sector and the communities in which we live. Quotes McCrory: “Hats off to Hosted Solutions for being visionaries within this growing market, and being responsible corporate partners for bringing an educational endeavor of such validity and importance to the
Charlotte
and area technology communities.”
The program then proceeded into Kaplan’s address on understanding the business implications of on-demand services and how to capitalize on these rapidly evolving opportunities.
Kaplan provided his perspective regarding SaaS market trends, and gave candid feedback and advice regarding individual SaaS strategies and solutions; go-to-market plans; target markets and buyers, packaging and pricing of offerings, sales tactics, competitive strengths, weaknesses, and threats; and future business opportunities.
The final portion of the program was a panel of local SaaS practitioners moderated by Kaplan in which attendees could gain perspective and insight on best practices for delivering a customer facing solution.
Josh Wolff
, General Manager of Hosted Solutions Charlotte operations and President of the Carolina SaaS User Group quotes, “From all the feedback we have received, hearing Jeff’s perspective as well as that of the panelists, was a huge advantage for all involved.With a great mix of software companies either delivering a SaaS solution or moving in that direction, corporate IT looking for ways to adapt more on-demand solutions internally, and niche vendors to the SaaS space, the message resonated for everyone in attendance. It truly made business web 2.0 more of a reality to many organizations.”
In case you were unable to attend the meeting, but are interested in finding out more about the organization or the session the video will be made available to the general public at www.hostedsolutions.com as it becomes available.
About the Carolina SaaS User Group:
The Carolina SaaS User Group is a conglomerate of industry professionals promoting growth in the software industry through events, education, promotion, and the fostering of strategic industry relationships. The Carolina SaaS User Group was created by Hosted Solutions (www.hostedsolutions.com) as an educational endeavor to provide a forum for business leaders involved in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution, and integration of software as a service products, as well as related services that are sold through on-demand channels. Carolina SaaS User Group’s resources are available online at http://www.carolinasaas.org/. The Carolina SaaS User Group is the definitive source for information about
North Carolina
’s Software as a Service industry.
About Hosted Solutions, Inc.:
Hosted Solutions delivers enterprise class managed hosting and data center services to organizations with the need for highly available applications and infrastructure. Hosted Solutions robust line of managed services ensure industry leading network, infrastructure, and hardware uptimes enabling customers to reduce operating costs, focus on their core competencies, and achieve their top business objectives. The company operates four SAS 70 Type II certified Data Centers in Boston MA, Charlotte NC, Raleigh NC, and Cary NC providing world class data center operations with hardened physical infrastructure, security, and a complete managed services portfolio.
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