That’s right, as a marketer you are no longer dependent on the annual capital spending plan to expand your digital technology capabilities or the 18-month queue of IT projects. Today your strategies and tactics can be automated and enabled by selecting the right platform and tools in the Cloud. There is a SaaS tool for every critical function that you might need to increase revenue, build customer loyalty, improve conversion rates and test or personalize everything.

However making it work for you and your ecosystem can be a challenge. Forrester analyst Liz Herbert, summed up the situation perfectly in a recent report stating, “As SaaS solutions become more advanced.... the do-it-yourself style of implementation is no longer a viable option for more advanced SaaS deployments that require customization and integration.”

Here are my three top tips for successful SaaS deployments:

1. Match your annual objectives to a roadmap of your technology platforms. With the right partner, you’ll benefit from a state of readiness and the forethought required to properly set up or enhance your digital marketing technology. If you plan 3 months in advance, your technology will be ready for your marketing strategy to be executed. For example, if you are an online travel service planning for videos on mobile to sell your summer vacation deals, get help now setting up your digital technology.

2. Shorten your ramp-up time by hiring experts to help you especially with the data integration aspects. Do not stretch your current vendors beyond their expertise. Platform tool know-how and digital data expertise usually shrinks a 12-month initiative into 3 months. Reach out to your current technology professional service partner now and share your holiday 2010 plans with them. You’ll be ready to beat last year’s results with more personalized relevance and better measurement methods.

3. Find a way to enjoy and celebrate your progress with digital technology. Having the ability to track and measure your customers’ use of your new iPhone app is exciting but demanding on your digital technology. Today technology achievements are more important than your first 30-second TV spot! Pausing to appreciate the team of contributors will fuel your next initiative. This is backed up in a recent Harvard Business Review article: The Acceleration Trap by Heike Bruch and Jochen I. Menges.

To close, I have a couple more pieces of advice. Firstly, don’t apply your historical guidelines or expectations to SaaS implementations. You should see amazing functionality up and running within weeks. For years I have helped innovative marketers with functionality and capability expansions but they took 18 to 36 months. With SaaS and a good service partner, you’ll be ready in 4 to 8 weeks. Secondly, don’t try this on your own or you’ll feel like a frustrated novice, failing before you even get a start. As one of my favourite clients put it, when you have a Ferrari you need a good mechanic!