There seems to be a common assumption (with founders in Germany) that just offering any form of software “as a service” will result in customers ditching their old products and transfer to “this new thing” in masses .

Seriously - this is not gonna happen… and there are good reasons for this:

1. “The current state works”: There is nothing wrong with “on premise” or “stand-alone” solutions for most customers. They work and employees know how to use them …
2. “Why the hassle?” A transfer to a new system will always result in costs and will require management attention (yes - even in a small business).
3. “What about security?” The security question is still a big question mark and an easy counter argument for anyone defending the status-quo.
4. “I trust this guy.” As a new player in any industry you just don’t have the intimicy with clients, they often don’t know you and DON’T TRUST YOU. The other company has been around for ages and has demonstrated its capabilities.
5. “I need specific functionality.” Your as-a-service product will mostly be standardized and thus have limited functionality compared to that legacy monster that has been modified 50 times. People like to make check-lists of features - and they want their product to be “perfect for them”.

Don’t get me wrong - I am a big believer in “as a service” concepts. But just saying “we are the first to offer this as a service and customers will love us” - usually combined with a second statement like “the established players in this industry are old farts, they don’t get this whole as a service thing and will quickly fade away” - is just stupid.

It is a long hard ways to bring a as-a-service product into any market and you need some good marketing to do so. And just labelling something “as a service” is not a marketing strategy.