2016

Yearly Archives

  • VSA. Why this is Great for SaaS Companies!

    2016-09-18_17-40-10

    The VSA is a super new group called the Vendor Security Alliance. As soon as I read this article about it Link,  I realized it was a great idea for all Software as a Service (SaaS companies) and will help get cloud service contracts signed. And hey, as attorneys that help SaaS companies get SaaS contracts signed, we were very excited.  So here is our thinking:

    1. What is the VSA?
      • Here is their quote: “In collaboration with the VSA, top security experts and experienced compliance officers will release a yearly questionnaire to benchmark their risk. Companies can leverage this questionnaire to qualify vendors and ensure the appropriate controls are in place to improve security for everyone.”
      • The questionnaire is only stage 1, as it appears that they plan to come up with a VSA certified score. This scoring system could really help SaaS companies communicate their security practices.
    1. Security issues are the #1 due diligence item we see in SaaS deals.
      • Security due dilligence is really slowing deals up, and the level of detail required to close a deal keeps increasing. In fact, info sec managers and directors at customers are on more and more conference calls during the contracting process and asking lots of questions.
      • It is not a bad thing, in fact it is a good thing, but we have to find a technological way to speed this process up. Hello VSA!
    1. The VSA process (if it works and is executed well), could provide an efficient
  • 3 Nuggets Every SaaS Company Needs to Remember

    enterprise saas agreement

    We represent lots, literally 100s and 100s, of SaaS companies and there are a few nuggets of useful information that we want to share with other SaaS companies when they think about negotiating an enterprise SaaS agreement. Ok, here goes.

    1. Setting the Right Expectations. I find that setting the right expectation of what the customer is buying is the #1 issue in any SaaS enterprise agreement negotiation. Enterprise customers notoriously want things their way or customized for them (and if you ever read their form agreements you will see what I mean), but in the SaaS world it does not work that way (i.e. everyone gets the same thing for a very low price). So make sure as part of your marketing and selling process you set the right expectations that your customer is getting what everyone else is getting.
    1. Price and Terms Are Linked. This is a high level issue, but is super important. Think of it this way: when you give an enterprise customer a price quote,  it is based on  (a) your pricing model and (b) your standard SaaS agreement terms. If you fail to explain this or educate them about this, then you may find that your enterprise customer may get the wrong impression and assume that you can give them whatever they want for that price. The only way to combat this is to tell them that if they want to change the ‘terms of the deal’ then the price will change too. So, in