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Hong Kong-based PCCW Solutions announced to launch an online software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to feature SaaS products of local independent software vendors (ISVs) in end-July.

Called Enterprise Solutions Superstore, the cloud services platform will serve to aggregate enterprise software vendors to extend their applications via SaaS targeting at small to large enterprises.

The available types of SaaS are workflow management, supply chain track and trace, enterprise resource planning, retail management, warehouse management and customer relationship management. The cloud services platform will also feature PCCW Solutions' home-grown applications, including healthcare solutions, document management and logistics management.

Currently on board SaaS products include SAP Business One for business management, Suger CRM, Kingdee KIS for cash flow management, AOBA DMS for document management, GS1 Hong Kong for global track-and-trace of goods, and Memberson Loyalty Systems for one-stop-shop loyalty solutions for the retail, attractions and entertainment industries.

Independent software vendors (ISVs) that seek to market their SaaS on the cloud services platform will need to first register themselves for membership at the Enterprise Solutions Superstore Alliance (ESSA), through which they will need to agree to adopt a revenue-sharing business model with PCCW Solutions.

Registered ISVs will then undergo a technical verification process by PCCW Solutions on the basis of security, volume test and functionality, such as systems interoperability and scalability, to ensure optimal end user experience.

"Many SMB ISVs in Hong Kong, though being very creative, are often challenged by the lack of resources to conduct stress test or volume test when an application is developed. Some applications may work perfectly for 10 users. But when the application is released to the market to serve 100, 1,000 or 10,000 users, it may encounter problems, hence thwarting further application development," said Andy Mak (pictured, right), senior vice president, PCCW Solutions.

Certified ISVs can then gain marketing exposure in the Enterprise Solutions Superstore with app promotion and cross selling, sales analysis and report generation, as well as service review in the form of comments and ratings by end users. The entire registration process for ESSA membership will take about three weeks.

Mak said the user feedback mechanism will help ISVs to instantly gauge market reaction for their SaaS, which can serve as an indicator of success. For particular ISVs that constantly receive negative comments or poor ratings from end users, will PCCW Solutions delist them from the Enterprise Solutions Superstore?

"Will we pull the poorly-performed SaaS products off the shelf like what a supermarket does? PCCW Solutions has no such plan at the moment. Our view is, all SaaS products have passed ESSA's technical verification. If any of these SaaS products has no subscribers, they will not consume much of our resources anyway, so we will keep them [in the Superstore]," Mak added. "And in those cases, the concerning SaaS ISVs may also revisit the functionality of their products and improve on them, then slowly build on the click ratios."

George Fok (pictured, second from right), managing director, PCCW Solutions, said, "By offering a fully integrated cloud platform with the Enterprise Solutions Superstore, PCCW Solutions is committed to providing end-to-end IT capabilities to help customers improve their time-to-market, maximize operational efficiency and drive business transformation."

PCCW Solutions' Enterprise Solutions Superstore will run on the newly released integrated cloud infrastructure platform IBM PureFlex, a member of the IBM PureSystems family that integrates both physical and virtual IT elements including server, storage, network and solutions on a single platform.

According to Savio Ng (pictured, left), executive, systems and technology group of IBM, PCCW Solutions will receive the first IBM PureFlex in Hong Kong in June to help run PCCW Solutions' Enterprise Solutions Superstore.