After changing my clocks back in early November, I began to think about the effect of the Cloud on time in the business world. Based on 300+ Cloud implementations, it really does seem that the Cloud has compressed implementation times and accelerated the time-to-value that applications like NetSuite and Salesforce.com deliver.

But why should this be? What is it about Cloud applications that let us do things more quickly? Here are some reasons that enable faster implementation and time-to-value:

• The Cloud model eliminates the time spent on hardware, operating system, database and application software provisioning, installation, setup, testing, tuning, etc.
• Most Cloud applications have been developed over the last ten years to be used by thousands of companies in a shared environment and are therefore robust, scalable and secure.
• Cloud software has been designed to be used by companies of different sizes, in different industries and in different countries. It has therefore been designed – ground up – to be highly configurable.
• Cloud developers typically provide access to development tools. If customization is needed, it can be done in the application's native toolset. This means that I can be deployed, supported and updated as a fully integrated piece of the application not a second class add-on that becomes a headache every time you update your application.

All of this means that when DSG engages with a customer we are immediately discussing how the software can be configured to meet their business priorities — not talking about technology and systems set up. What's more, DSG has invested in developing an agile implementation methodology that takes time-tested implementation best-practices and optimizes them for Cloud projects and rapid time-to-value.

These factors result in massive time savings. Ten years ago a mid-sized ERP or CRM implementation would have taken 8-10 months and been driven by a dedicated project team backed up by application consultants from the vendor. Today, you can implement a similar Cloud solution in 8-10 weeks if you know what you're doing and have a process in place to help you do it.

This is why DSG talks about the Cloud Accelerated Business. Not only does the Cloud model save time by eliminating installation, hardware issues, and providing configuration and customization tools, but our methodology ensures accelerated implementation by having the process and people to make it all work.

Is Cloud Time faster than normal time? We think so and so do many of our clients. For example, one of our most recent customers shared with us that DSG had taken them from 1982 to 2011 in three months in terms of their business systems. Now that's a Cloud Accelerated Business!

Recently I was invited to speak at a CIO Dinner on the subject, "Where does SaaS fit in Your Applications Portfolio?" The presentation really gave me the opportunity to take a snapshot of how SaaS and the Cloud are seen by a cross-section of well-informed CIOs most of whom work for leading-edge technology companies. Here are my takeaways from that meeting:

• Most CIOs embrace the concept of SaaS and are using it in their companies.
• The larger the enterprise, the more likely it is to be a laggard in adopting SaaS.
• Few CIOs see SaaS ever fully displacing on-premise applications.
• Most agree that the major benefits of SaaS are that:
• It focuses on meeting business needs not on technology
• Faster time-to-value rather than lower TCO is the major financial benefit
• Many CIOs believe large scale SaaS deployments have higher TCO than on-premise equivalents.
• A lot of SaaS apps are acquired under the radar of traditional IT.

One of the most vigorous discussions was around SaaS and competitive advantage. One veteran CIO argued that if everyone is using the same cookie-cutter SaaS applications, how does anyone gain a competitive advantage? DSG's position on this is very clear. Having implemented dozens of "cookie-cutter" SaaS solutions for companies as dissimilar as software giants and snowboard suppliers, it's down to what you do with your solution not what SaaS package your solution is based on.

As always, Salesforce.com's new release contains many features that we believe will be useful and includes one change (to record retention in the Recycle Bin) that you need to be aware of.

• Global Search Enhancements - Global Search results now show a summary view of the objects you have searched and gives you the ability to launch a new search from within the results page.
• New Reporting, Dashboard and View Features – an enhanced Reporting Tab has been introduced that allows you to manage all dashboard and report folders. When you go to this tab, it defaults to a view that shows your most recently viewed reports and dashboards. Additionally, new reporting features have been introduced that:
• Allow reports and dashboards to be created from the same page.
• Create custom Report Types with users as the primary object. This allows you to write reports on all Activities based on the user that owns them, has them assigned to them, or last modified them.
• Create a filter on a report by typing in the start of the field name.
• Categorize report types by folder using Quick Find.
• Use Dashboard Finder to quickly choose a dashboard to display on the Home tab.
• Clone List Views – instead of having to edit a public list view there is a new function that clones a public or standard list view.
• Recycle Bin – watch out for this one! The recycle bin now stores records for 15 days not 30 days as it used to.

Don't forget to schedule producing your 1099s! If you want a quick refresher on how best to do this, download our DSG Value Maximizer Webinar on NetSuite 1099 Processing here.

There is a perfect storm driving the Cloud as companies of all sizes use SaaS applications to reduce operating costs and increase the effectiveness of their sales, service, operations and finance systems. DSG has been at the forefront of this move to the Cloud and has partnered with leading ERP and CRM SaaS vendors like NetSuite and Salesforce.com to accelerate business performance. With its objective approach and proven Launch and Optimize methodologies, DSG provides the right Cloud solutions to customers and drives business success while reducing cost, risk and time-to-value. To learn more about how DSG can cloud accelerate a business visit: www.DSGcloud.com.