If you’re a SaaS company, you’re probably a major consumer of SaaS technology. Today’s cloud companies have access to a wide variety of tools and systems, including Email, SEO, marketing automation, project managers, social networking tools, sales contact management and on and on. It’s all available and in just about every case, SaaS systems offer flexibility and 24/7 connectivity that makes their usage not only useful, but just about mandatory. The Age of Corporate Servers and Desktops is drawing to a rapid end (at least until some major catastrophe shuts the web down for an extended period. Then we may say a revival of the on-premise model, perhaps as a form of personal backup).

However, if you’re a SaaS startup, there is one definite hole in the mix of services available to SaaS companies. That’s a SaaS planning tool to help SaaS startups and companies moving legacy applications to an online environment. The flood of SaaS startups shows no sign of abating and there are many larger companies currently sustaining hybrid portfolios(legacy/online) launching internal initiatives to switch to move their products lines to SaaS. In addition, there are many software firms with valuable reseller channels who need to retrain and reorient their partner’s salesforce’s selling and marketing skills from legacy to online expectations. It can be a wrenching process.

To meet this need, Deltachannels has recently unveiled DeltaPlan Partner, the only online system we’re aware of dedicated specifically to assisting software companies plan for a SaaS product release. Deltachannels is a U.K. firm in business since 1995 and specializes in working with software firms to improve their operations and build sales. Over the last several years, their focus has been on working with large firms as Oracle, SAP, HP and a slew of mid-size firms to help them transition their VAR and reseller forces to SaaS.

When Delta first launched their transition programs, they relied on seminars, PowerPoint, and similar approaches. In Over time, the company increasingly iterated their accumulated knowledge and experience into a software framework. This framework has evolved into DeltoPlan Partner. Let’s take a quick tour. The system is just leaving beta and DeltaChannels has not widely publicized Partner as of yet. They’ve provided Softletter with a limited number of 14-day trial licenses for you use and see if the program is a fit to your company’s company and development. In many cases, we think it will, but you’ll be in a position to make up your own mind. Instructions on how to obtain the link below are at the end of the article.

DeltaPlan Partner Opening Screen

DeltaPlan Partner’s look and feel is contemporary and straightforward. Once you’ve logged into the system, you presented with a to-the-point introduction screen that quickly summarizes the pros and cons of the SaaS model. Give it a quick read, then use the menu bar to move through the process of creating your business plans.

System Action Bar

DeltaPlan Partner’s workflow is very linear. In order, you will describe your current status in the market, define the business parameters of your product, build out a pricing model, investigate and dig into your market opportunity, and finally arrive at a revenue plan. You can jump from point to point on the action bar, but we suggest moving at least once through the tool in order to acquaint yourself with the system’s  workflow model.

Subscription and CAC Modeling Dashboard

Behind the simple interface, there’s a fair amount of horsepower to help you plan your move into SaaS or launch your startup. The product enables you to enter numbers that will assist you to calculate key SaaS metrics. The system’s dashboards are interactive and update in real time. In the example above, the Solution dashboard provides you with a visual model of the interplay between your pricing, customer acquisition costs, and churn.

DeltaPlan Partner Revenue Report

Once you’ve worked through the various sections of DeltaPlan Partner, the program will generate a live summary revenue plan with accompanying pie and bar charts. You can add simple “to dos” to each your summary section in order to improve your overall plan, as well as print out a document in pdf or text for distribution to your team or company stakeholders.

The Deltachannel system does not replace spreadsheets or a details project management worksheet.  Rather, it functions to provide your company with a high-level snapshot of the challenges and key metrics you’ll need to account for as you build your business. It’s particularly well suited to providing senior executives, key stakeholders, and reseller organizations making the move to SaaS with guidance and a suite of high-level statistics to assist during the transition.

Softletter has made arrangements for 20 people to access the free 14-day trial in advance of general availability. The tickets are available on first come, first served basis. To obtain your, go to the link below:

http://deltachannels.com/product/deltaplan-partner-14-day-free-trial-subscription/

And enter this code:

sldpptrial

Pricing and customization information are available on the website.