Managing Disruptive Change: Successful Transformation from On-premises to SaaS in B2C Software Companies

Cloud Computing technology brings a fundamental change from On-premises software to Software as a Service (SaaS) within the software industry. To stay competitive, well-established companies need to transform and adjust strategies. Based on five case studies and Christensen’s theory for managing disruptive innovations, this study focuses on software companies in the B2C market. The study analyses their transformation strategy in terms of an On-premises provider to a company offering SaaS. Although Christensen’s recommendations are partly applicable there were additional strategies that proved to be valuable in practice. Eight strategies were derived for software companies in the B2C market to better cope with the transformation process. Finally, the study was able to draw a comparison between transformation strategies in the B2C and B2B market. Although the software market as a whole was affected by Cloud Computing technology, transformation strategies in these different markets varied significantly.