I’m not even quite sure how I came across this post at this point, but thought it was worth highlighting.  This is from Going Private – a blog focused on the private equity business and an entry entitled Buried Cable.  The author provides some great perspective on the realities of Software as a Service (SaaS) from his perspective.  Whether you agree or not, it is a good read to keep those of us that advocate the new, new thing honest and humble.

Couple of my favorite points:

1.  On putting more infrastructure in place between the user and their data

• "…the strength of a chain is only that of its weakest link"
• "’Oh, but with the increasingly pervasiveness of fast internet because
  of wireless hot-spots and broadband internet…’  Hogwash."

2.  On real "use cases" and where to invest

"Still, every time I hear someone sing the praises of software as
service revenue I roll my eyes and
picture "Ralph," the union back-hoe
operator pulling up a fiber optic main, writing a blog post with my
e-mail client while sitting on an unconnected airplane, or imagine
myself working diligently on my laptop, finishing by candle light a
spreadsheet during one of the summer’s increasingly common blackouts
caused by increasing strain on decades old and barely adequate power
infrastructure.

Call me a Luddite, but I think I’ll invest in utilities with aggressive grid growth reinvestment policies instead."