Gaps in Analytics: Jon Kondo, CEO of Host Analytics (Part 7)

Sramana: In the pre-SaaS era, a lot of software got bought and sold that just stayed on the shelf. Siebel was notorious for being shelfware. As a category, is SaaS significantly better in terms of utilization rates?

Jon Kondo: The beauty of SaaS is that if a company is not using the software, then they are going to turn it off. It is a subscription service, which makes it easy to start and stop. We are very conscious of that, which is why we track usage so intently. If we see usage is low, we will interact with those clients. We want to maintain that revenue stream.

The beauty of SaaS is that it puts the power back into the hands of customers. That is one of our differentiators against on-premise, big software. I used to negotiate enterprise deals all the time knowing full well that the solution would potentially not be fully deployed. We sold the license fees, and that was the focus. With SaaS, the focus is on utilization.

Sramana: What do you see happening in the next two to three years with your company?

Jon Kondo: It is hard to say. We intend to stay on our phenomenal growth path. All indications are that we will, and it will be hard work. However, if we continue to execute our business plan, we will have options. Right now, every door is open to us in terms of potential outcomes. It is my job to keep those doors open. A public exit is still within reach. Obviously there are strategic exists that can happen as other companies explore our space. All kinds of things can happen. Right now we are focused on building a great company with great growth. At the moment, we are building our company so that it is capable of coming under public scrutiny.

Sramana: There is a gap in the analytics portfolio of larger companies. Public cloud solutions make sense for corporate analytic solutions like [the ones] you provide, and often those solutions are missing from public company portfolios. Now large enterprises are embracing cloud-based solutions. That makes me believe that you are in a sweet spot of strategic acquisition.

Jon Kondo: Absolutely. We hope so. We will continue to develop our company so that it is capable of withstanding public scrutiny. However, if the right opportunity arises then we will take advantage of that. We are definitely in a sweet spot.

Sramana: Fantastic. I have really enjoyed your story. I look forward to following your continued success.

This segment is part 7 in the series : Gaps in Analytics: Jon Kondo, CEO of Host Analytics
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