List of SaaS and Cloud Consultants and Analysts

December 20, 2012 Article by Lincoln Murphy

Sixteen Ventures is a SaaS consulting company and I’m a consultant. I help SaaS / Web App / Cloud providers go to market, acquire and retain customers, and grow.

I don’t consider myself a SaaS or Cloud industry analyst; I actually spend more time analyzing other models outside of SaaS to see what’s working there; e-commerce, retail, subscription / membership sites, etc.

My clients have their greatest success when we don’t think about what’s working in “SaaS” but instead focus on how to be successful in the Project Management, Health Care, or Commercial Real Estate, or whatever actual market they’re serving.

Too many SaaS providers still think like Software companies and that’s holding them back… not a model I wish to replicate.

For immediate consultation and advice on all things SaaS Business Model, Marketing, or Customer Retention-related, schedule a 60-minute meeting with me via Clarity. If you feel a more involved engagement is required for me to help you, email me with the specifics of your situation (as much detail as you’re comfortable giving) and we’ll setup a meeting to work through the particulars.

Since I look at SaaS as a Business Model or Business Architecture, I say that all SaaS providers share certain characteristics, but ultimately, what works for one SaaS company, means very little to a SaaS provider in a different market with a different sales process, revenue model, pricing strategy, etc.

Yes, there are patterns and some degree of “best practices” to consider, but to roll all SaaS companies up under one set of “industry” metrics basically renders the information meaningless in most cases.

That said, sometimes I’m asked to provide SaaS industry benchmarks, usually by companies seeking funding (trying to justify to investors why they should pick them, and of course, this is the wrong approach), but most often by large, Legacy Software vendors that want to justify the investment in “going” SaaS (again, the wrong approach).

So when I’m asked to provide that kind of information, I usually give some version of the above disclaimer and the list of Cloud Analysts and SaaS Consultants below… and now I’m giving it to you.

I’ve split the list into two groups: those who are Cloud / SaaS Specific (though they might be analysts, consultants, or both) and those with a more general Information Technology / Enterprise Software Analysis focus.

Some of these firms I’ve worked with or for, others I know well, and still others I’ve never interacted with at all. Just do your own homework before selecting a vendor… but you know that.

SaaS / Cloud Specific Analysts and Consultants

Montclare Advisors – Kevin Dobbs, Managing Partner – Kevin also created and sells the SaaS Top 250 List, a Comprehensive list of all 250 public and private SaaS companies with analysis
SoftLetter – Rick Chapman, Managing Editor and Publisher – Rick just published a new book called “SaaS Entrepreneur: The Definitive Guide to Succeeding in Your Cloud Application Business” and it’s available on the Softletter site.
ThinkStrategies – Jeff Kaplan, Managing Director – Jeff also created and operates the Cloud Showplace, which is on my list of 100 places to promote your SaaS offering.
SaaS Marketing Strategy Advisors – Peter Cohen, Managing Partner
KJR Associates – Ken Rutsky, President
On-Demand Advisors – Robert Jurkowski, Founding Partner
Saugatuck Technology – Bill McNee, CEO
OpexEngine – Lauren Kelley, Founder and CEO – OpexEngine runs an annual survey – open from Feb – March – and if you participate you get access to some of the results