One of the hot topics these days is the concept of “Software as a service” (Saas). Earlier this decade, there was a lot of hype around ASP (Application Service Providers) and when the dot com bust happened, ASP was one of the victims. Though ASP and SaaS are not exactly the same, many people think they are and call Saas a second incarnation of ASP model. Sucess of services such as salesforce.com has really fueled the success of Saas and everyone seems to be talking about it.
McKinsey recently published a very good article on delivering Saas, which explores the financial, accounting, customer support, developmental and other business and operational implications of Saas. To me, it is a must read for any product manager working in the software industry. The article explores these different implications and calls on all software companies to take Saas very seriously or fear to be left behind. (The article requires registration with McKinsey to get full access, but it is definitely worth the registration process).
Software Product Manager by Gopal Shenoy 