4 ms·

This is a really good overview of some features that are common in enterprise SaaS, but I would caution against thinking that they're necessary to be successful

by mnutt 10y ago

This is a really good overview of some features that are common in enterprise SaaS, but I would caution against thinking that they're necessary to be successful in enterprise SaaS.* My experience has been that if you have a really compelling core feature set, most everything else is negotiable. Some are nice to have, some are regulatory, and some are just something someone added to a list because they thought it sounded like a good idea. Even the ones you do decide to implement, make sure you do enough customer discovery to figure out how it relates to your market. * Except security. Always be thinking about security.

grantlmiller 10y ago
I appreciate your level response. You're correct that these features are not absolutely, always necessary for success. I would caution that even with a an incredibly compelling core feature set, you still have to negotiate yourself out of not providing these features. Even when you win you might be creating a maintenance nightmare for someone down the totem pole within your customer's org. Part of what we're trying to do with EnterpriseReady is show that many of the non-core (yet common among many enterprise customers) features 1) aren't that hard to understand 2) can be built really well in a way that will delight your users. * As the OP, when you say: "some are just something someone added to a list because they thought it sounded like a good idea" - I genuinely hope that I did not do that. 100% - Always be thinking about security.
- clay_to_n 10y ago
  >* As the OP, when you say: "some are just something someone added to a list because they thought it sounded like a good idea" - I genuinely hope that I did not do that. In my reading he was referring to negotiations that SaaS product companies have with customers; saying that sometimes customers will request features that "sound like a good idea" but aren't necessary or fully thought out.
- mnutt 10y ago
  I could have worded that better, I was referring to someone within the client organization adding on requirements arbitrarily.
  - grantlmiller 10y ago
    Ha, makes sense... I didn't really take any offense.

by mnutt 10y ago

grantlmiller 10y ago

I appreciate your level response. You're correct that these features are not absolutely, always necessary for success. I would caution that even with a an incredibly compelling core feature set, you still have to negotiate yourself out of not providing these features. Even when you win you might be creating a maintenance nightmare for someone down the totem pole within your customer's org. Part of what we're trying to do with EnterpriseReady is show that many of the non-core (yet common among many enterprise customers) features 1) aren't that hard to understand 2) can be built really well in a way that will delight your users. * As the OP, when you say: "some are just something someone added to a list because they thought it sounded like a good idea" - I genuinely hope that I did not do that. 100% - Always be thinking about security.

clay_to_n 10y ago
>* As the OP, when you say: "some are just something someone added to a list because they thought it sounded like a good idea" - I genuinely hope that I did not do that. In my reading he was referring to negotiations that SaaS product companies have with customers; saying that sometimes customers will request features that "sound like a good idea" but aren't necessary or fully thought out.
mnutt 10y ago
I could have worded that better, I was referring to someone within the client organization adding on requirements arbitrarily.
- grantlmiller 10y ago
  Ha, makes sense... I didn't really take any offense.