Today we present a sponsored podcast discussion on how software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications can accelerate the use and power of business analytics. We're going to use the example of a human capital management (HCM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) SaaS provider to show how easily customizable views on data and analytics can have a big impact on how managers and knowledge workers operate.

It has to be one of the biggest software industry no-brainers of all time -- the idea to converge human resources management and talent management software.

It seems counterintuitive that HR systems haven’t always included t he ability to track and record such things as employee skills and goals -- along with hours worked and absences -- since the quality of a workforce is so important to any company’s success.

Both the software and the media industries love a good David vs. Goliath story, which is why SaaS is often cast as the spunky new alternative to on-premises software. You know, Workday vs. SAP, Salesforce.com vs. Oracle, Google vs. Microsoft, and so on.

I’ve been a journalist for 20 years and have been writing about cloud computing for several years, so I was delighted when Workday asked me to get involved with an exciting new editorial project that would shed light on cloud computing. After two decades I’ve developed a pretty good nose for major industry shifts, and I think this cloud thing is here to stay.