Table Of Content

These materials are © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. SaaS Oracle Edition These materials are © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. SaaS For Dummies®, Oracle Edition Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd The Atrium Southern Gate Chichester West Sussex PO19 8SQ England For details on how to create a custom For Dummies book for your business or organisation, contact [email protected]. For information about licensing the For Dummies brand for products or services, contact BrandedRights&[email protected]. Visit our Home Page on www.customdummies.com Copyright © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester, West Sussex, England All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1T 4LP, UK, without the permission in writing of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, England, or emailed to permreq@ wiley.com, or faxed to (44) 1243 770620. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER, THE AUTHOR, AND ANYONE ELSE INVOLVED IN PREPARING THIS WORK MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WAR- RANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CON- TAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HERE- FROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. ISBN: 978-1-119-02752-2 Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by Page Bros Ltd., Norwich 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 These materials are © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. Table of Contents Introduction .......................................................1 Foolish Assumptions .................................................................1 How This Book is Organized ....................................................2 Icons Used in This Book ............................................................3 Where to Go From Here ............................................................3 Chapter 1: Definitions, Buzzwords, and Acronyms . . . . .5 Getting Social, Going Mobile.....................................................6 The Cloud and SaaS ...................................................................7 More “aaS” Acronyms to Know ................................................9 Infrastructure, served up to-go ......................................9 A platform stocked with tools ......................................10 Serving up data ..............................................................10 Cloud Computing — Public or Private? ................................11 Hosted Solutions vs. the Cloud ..............................................14 What’s Digital Disruption? ......................................................15 Chapter 2: Your Challenge: “The Digital Agenda” . . . .17 The Rules of Tomorrow ..........................................................17 What Can The Cloud Do For Your Business? .......................19 Chapter 3: Newfound Power of the Business Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 New Responsibilities of the LOB ............................................23 Sold on the Cloud .....................................................................25 Powerful Marketing Advantages ............................................26 Service Before and After the Sale...........................................28 Find and Keep Talent ...............................................................30 Fuel Financial Excellence ........................................................32 Chapter 4: The Path to SaaS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Think Before You Leap ............................................................35 Get Personal .............................................................................36 Connect With the Suite Spot ...................................................37 Be Secure ..................................................................................39 The Business Case for the Cloud ...........................................40 These materials are © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. iv SaaS For Dummies, Oracle Edition Chapter 5: Ten Things To Know About the Cloud . . . . .43 The Cloud is the Answer .........................................................43 The Cloud is Not One Thing ...................................................43 The Cloud is Personal .............................................................44 The Cloud Isn’t Just for Software ...........................................44 The Cloud is for Line of Business Managers ........................44 The Cloud is Flexible ...............................................................45 The Cloud Should Make Life Easier .......................................45 The Cloud Can Help Your Cash Flow ....................................45 The Cloud Isn’t All About Saving Money...............................45 The Cloud Needs an Exit .........................................................46 Appendix 1: Evaluating a Cloud Provider . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Is the Company a Proven, Viable Provider? .........................47 Does the Provider Use a Layered, Unified Security Approach?..............................................................48 How Does the Provider Ensure Data Integrity? ....................49 Taking the Quiz ........................................................................49 These materials are © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. Introduction O dds are that you’ve heard a lot about the cloud in recent years. If you’re like most people, it was a pretty mysteri- ous term at first, and you may still have plenty of questions about what the cloud is and what it can do for you. You might even be tempted to think that it’s just another Internet fad that will come and go before most people get a chance to figure it out. Don’t count on that. The cloud is for real, it’s here to stay, and it’s not just for trendy millennials. In fact, the cloud has increasingly powerful implications for businesses That’s why the roster of companies offering cloud products does not just include tech whiz kids working out of their garages. Those offering amazing solutions in the cloud include some of the biggest and most respected names in technology, such as Oracle. If your business wants to compete and win in the digital world that’s all around, you’ll need to make smart decisions about technology. That quite possibly will include tapping into cloud solutions for some functions, or lots of functions, ranging from sales and marketing to human resources and finance to customer service. SaaS For Dummies is in your hands to help get your head in the cloud. Read on to acquaint yourself with the many related buzzwords and acronyms, and start to get a feel for the place you’ll want to be in the digital world. Learn about the technology choices that increasingly are in the hands of those who run business lines. Get up to speed on what the cloud can do for you — but remember that you need to fully understand the business challenge you hope to solve before leaping into the cloud. Foolish Assumptions We don’t know you, but we know you picked up this book, so we’re going to make a few assumptions about you, the reader: These materials are © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. 2 SaaS For Dummies, Oracle Edition ✓ You’re a business manager, not an IT person, perhaps at a large or midsized organization. ✓ You want to improve business efficiency and productiv- ity, and you’d really like to know more about how cloud applications can help solve your business challenges. ✓ The way you do business has changed dramatically in recent years, and you face higher-than-ever expectations from customers, employees, and partners. ✓ You don’t care that much about the ingredients, nuts, and bolts of your cloud apps — you just want them to work their miracles for your business. How This Book is Organized Get to know more about software as a service and all of the other remarkable things the cloud can do for your company. Then get ready to develop your cloud strategy and pick a provider. ✓ Chapter 1: Definitions, Buzzwords, and Acronyms — The cloud is an alphabet soup of terminology, and if you’re going to develop a taste for that soup, you’ll need to understand such terms as SaaS, IaaS, public and private clouds, hosted solutions, and digital disruption. ✓ Chapter 2: Your Challenge: “The Digital Agenda” — Business plays by new rules these days, and if you plan to enjoy a healthy future, you need to be a modern, digital business. ✓ Chapter 3: Newfound Power of the Business Manager — Cloud solutions are among the reasons business managers are in the driver’s seat more than ever when it comes to acquiring technology. The cloud has answers for your part of the company, whether it’s human resources, finance, sales, marketing, or service. ✓ Chapter 4: The Path to SaaS — First you must determine the functionality you need to solve your specific business challenges. Then, dive in and develop your cloud-based approach. These materials are © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. 3 Introduction ✓ Chapter 5: Ten Things to Know About the Cloud — The cloud isn’t just a thing or a place or a product; it’s a chan- nel that connects your needs with new solutions. ✓ Appendix: Evaluating a Cloud Provider — Whether your business is already in the cloud or on its way there, here are some questions to ask to ensure you pick the right partner. Icons Used in This Book Check the margins of SaaS for Dummies. You’ll see some cute little icons there, but they’re not there just to be cute. Those icons exist to get your attention, to be sure you know you’re about to read some important information you won’t want to miss. Here are the ones you’ll find in this book: As you evaluate your cloud options and get ready to head in a cloudy direction, here’s a pointer to help you succeed. We’re not in the habit of wasting words, so every word on every page is there for a reason. That said, the words by this icon are of particular importance, so please don’t miss them. Technology can be both powerful and perilous. Read this paragraph for some important information about what could go wrong if you’re not careful. Technology is also pretty darned technical, needless to say, and we already noted that we’re assuming you’re not a techie. Nevertheless, by this icon are some technical details you might find intriguing. Where to Go From Here Ready to head into the clouds? Then turn the page! There’s a lot of ground to cover. Just like any book in English, these pages are numbered, they’re in numerical order, and text flows left to right. Always best to keep things simple and familiar. These materials are © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. 4 SaaS For Dummies, Oracle Edition But could it be that you’re a bit of a rebel? Are you one of those people who prefer not to follow convention? Are you into skipping around? Reading back-to-front? Taking in a little now, a little later? Fine! We don’t mind! This book is structured to meet your needs, however you wish to approach it. We’re just pleased you picked it up, so . . . enjoy! These materials are © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorised use is strictly prohibited.