I occasionally contribute to BusinessInsider.com and here is an excerpt from my new book ‘The SaaS Edge’ on how online tools can help you save money in times of a recession. Hope you like it! Do join us on the Facebook page for the book - www.facebook.com/thesaasedge

It explains software-as-a-service, commonly known as SaaS, and how companies can gain competitive advantage using online tools for marketing, building a brand and running their day-to-day business. Shaw runs a hypothetical company that is ready to take the SaaS plunge. At this point Shaw and his team are slowly falling in love with SaaS and are learning how online software can help their business even during a recession…

Recession Friendly

“What do you think of when the recession looms over you? Automatically, we start thinking of lowering costs first. With SaaS, you get access to powerful features, can get started immediately, pay a small monthly subscription fee, and you don’t need to invest in expensive hardware. Seems like Utopia!

So, then when you are looking to slash costs, why would you buy software, servers, and spend money setting them up?

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I spent a year writing this book. It is about Web 2.0 and SaaS and how companies can gain competitive advantage when embracing these new concepts, tools and techniques. An easy to read book (technical jargon simplified) for business owners, entrepreneurs and anyone wanting to take their business to the next level.

When YourStory.in approached me, I was happy to give them a brief sneak preview on one of the chapters. Check it out and hope you like it. Do let me know your thoughts. The book will be published by Tata Mcgraw-Hill before the end of the year. We will anounce it here once it is launched. Hope you like it

[YourStory brings an exclusive sneak peek into Sahil Parikh's upcoming book on SaaS (by the author himself) to be published by Tata McGraw Hill shortly. This article is written by a Cloud evangelist (in the book) who believes in the SaaS business model and debunks existing myths on SaaS. This is part of our ongoing coverage of the NASSCOM Product Conclave, which focused on Cloud computing and lean startups for scaling new heights]

So, you decided you want to start your own company (or you have already started one). My bet is you will run your company using web applications – from CRM, project collaboration to help desk, storage and invoicing. If you don’t then maybe one of these points might be stopping you from taking the plunge. By the end, you will be scrounging the web for more tools…

Here is a short excerpt from my upcoming book (to be published next month by Tata McGraw-Hill, India) on software-as-a-service, commonly known as SaaS, and how companies can gain competitive advantage using online tools for marketing, building a brand and running their day-to-day business. Shaw runs a hypothetical company that is ready to take the SaaS plunge. At this point Shaw and his team love the notion of SaaS but still have certain myths that they need to discuss and dispel.

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