A conference summary report from Enterprise 2005 produced in collaboration by Sand Hill Group and McKinsey reports on a couple of key trends in the software industry.

If you are a buyer, it is always good to know the trends of the market. That way, you will know if your spending is aligned with how leading organizations are making their investments.

If the primary pricing percentage still falls within the licensing model (54%), the second highest is the Software as a Service (SaaS) or application service provider (ASP) model at 29%, and probably the one with the most growth potential. The SaaS model is today seen as good for many applications and all sizes of companies (65%).

This is great news for talent management.

HR is indeed typically underserved by IT. HR’s most strategic facet, talent management, has already mostly migrated to the SaaS model. This is where poor support for a specific market turns into an ally for jumping to the next generation of technology.

So if your IT department is still challenging you about the SaaS model, direct them towards Emergence of Alternate Business Models on page 13 of this report!