News: Sift Media’s Software Satisfaction survey tracks the rise of the SaaS generation

 Annual customer-voted software awards pit ‘cloud’ solutions against in-house software

The Software Satisfaction Awards 2009, voted for by genuine end users and purchasers of business software, will see in-house business systems tested against the new wave of SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) hosted solutions.

In 2008, based on the votes of 5,967 software users, the SaaS generation of business applications performed strongly against traditional on-premise systems.

Increasing press coverage of hosted, ‘cloud’ applications suggests that 2009 will see web-hosted software grab a greater share of the business application market and, through these awards, recognition as providers of excellent customer service.

Of the 40-plus entries so far this year, a quarter are entries into web-hosted categories across accounting, HR, training and CRM. The deadline for entries into the 2009 awards is Tuesday 31 March 2009 - software vendors and resellers can enter the awards at www.softwaresatisfaction.co.uk.

This year’s awards are again endorsed by the Business Application Software Developers Association (BASDA). BASDA’s director general, Jairo Rojas, comments:
“This is the fourth year that BASDA will support Sift Media’s Software Satisfaction Awards. They are the only awards that speak directly to the most important people in the industry – the buyers of business software. Quite simply these are the awards that count.”

Darren Falkingham, Head of Marketing at Sift Media adds:
“The Software Satisfaction Awards recognise providers and resellers that have focused on customer needs to deliver excellent business systems. There’s no better recommendation for the suitability of a software application than the first-hand views of businesses that have already bought and used it.”

2008’s web-hosted winners included: KashFlow, a pure online accounting solution that beat Sage, QuickBooks and MYOB in the small business accounting category; NetSuite, a web-based CRM solution that took both the mid-range and enterprise CRM awards; Really Simple Systems, a web-based CRM system, that won the SME CRM prize; and online HR systems newcomer Octopus taking top honours in the mid-range HR category.

Organised by online publishing specialist Sift Media, the Software Satisfaction Awards recognise excellence from business software providers on key performance attributes of functionality, reliability, ease of use, and value for money.

The user survey opens on 1 May 2009, closing at the end of June, with the winners being announced at an Awards Dinner on Thursday 8 October 2009, taking place at the Royal Courts of Justice, London WC2.

With 5,967 responses, the 2008 Software Satisfaction Awards survey was one of the largest individual pieces of business opinion research in the UK. Visit the dedicated Software Satisfaction Awards website at: www.softwaresatisfaction.co.uk

For further information, please contact:
Darren Falkingham, Head of Marketing
darren.falkingham@siftmedia.co.uk
Tel: 0117 915 8632 or 07870 558 521
www.siftmedia.co.uk