TL;DR
Context as a product feature that SaaS vendors can package and sell is wrong thinking. It’s actually the foundational infrastructure layer that makes any system intelligently operational. Context is the operational intelligence that knows who, where, what, and how people interact across and with organisations and each other. In short - it is the essential layer that transforms disconnected capabilities into coherent, situationally-aware engagement.
Scott Brinker writes: 🔗 The SaaS Moats Are Crumbling, but the Opportunity Is Bigger - and I agree - but not for the reasons he lays out.
I mean he even highlights things I talk about, like
Context.
Not just in passing either, the article’s subtitle is
Context-as-a-Service (CaaS)
I’ll just let that sit while you think about that for a moment - and return later.
Business are apparently moving on from being
systems of record
… with much more ‘relevant’ thinking …
systems of truth or single source of truth.
Cough - the ‘single source of truth’? New? A branding upgrade? We used to talk about the 🔗 single source of truth when I was part of Oracle - and 🖇️ as I pointed out recently - in my early days at Oracle - I had email - and could not use it to communicate with anybody outside of Oracle that I worked with … so we know that was a looooong time ago.
And systems of truth? Whose truth?
If my cell company believes that my primary email is mickeymouse@philpin.com - because when they asked me for my primary email I gave them mickeymouse@philpin.com - that may well be their ‘truth’ - but it is certainly not mine.
But back to ‘context’ …
Context is different. Context is personal and situational. It’s knowing not just what the data says, but what it means for this marketer making this decision, or for this customer in this moment.
So why is it a new service? Spoiler Alert. It isn’t - unless you are going to add it to a list such as this;
- Buzzword-as-a-Service (BaaS) - The self-aware parody of vendor speak.
- Synergy-as-a-Service (SaaS) - Corporate nonsense on demand.
- Disruption-as-a-Service (DaaS) - Generates any pitch deck you will ever need.
- Oxygen-as-a-Service (OaaS) - Because anything that can be ‘monetised’ - will be ‘monetised’.
- Innovation-as-a-Service (IaaS) - Outsourcing the very thing you can’t outsource - but now you can.
Context is where domain expertise meets operational reality.
… amongst many other things.
Truth implies something universal and static — the same for everyone, in every situation.
It does. That’s why even 15 years ago - my mantra was
and as for ‘context’ being new thinking?
Another one from the archives
