Top 25 Most Popular SaaS, Cloud Apps for Business 2017 -

Which cloud applications and SaaS offerings are most popular with business users? The third-annual Business @ Work report, from Okta, pinpoints the 25 most widely used SaaS and cloud applications. The report is based on real-world monitoring and analytics data rather than customer surveys. > Related: Gartner Public Cloud IaaS Market Share (for Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Alibaba, IBM & Oracle) Here's a look at this year's Okta list vs. last year's rankings, along with ChannelE2E's channel-centric observations about each SaaS and cloud offering. 1. Microsoft Office 365 (same rank as last year). ChannelE2E says: Microsoft Channel Chief Gavriella Schuster explains the Office 365 partner strategy in this podcast.

2. Salesforce.com (same). ChannelE2E says: Neeracha Taychakhoonavudh, VP of Salesforce’s partner program and marketing, explains the partner and IoT strategy in this podcast. 3. Box (same). ChannelE2E says: CEO Aaron Levie in September 2016 described how Box was winning with IBM, Microsoft and channel partners. 4. Amazon Web Services (up from No. 5 last year). ChannelE2E says: We believe this involves Amazon's SaaS offerings rather than overall IaaS portfolio. Among the recent efforts: AWS re:Start Cloud Training for partners and customers. 5. Google G Suite (down from No. 4). ChannelE2E says: Former Cloudera Channel Chief Bertrand Yansouni recently joined Google as VP of global partner sales and strategic alliances. It’s a safe bet Yansouni will present at Google Cloud Next 2017 — the company’s major conference for cloud partners and customers. Google is expected to tout its its Windows Server and SQL Server cloud services at the conference — an aggressive counter to Microsoft Azure.

6. Concur (same). ChannelE2E says: SAP, Concur's owner, launched a partner program for the expense management system in July 2016. Sachin Vora, a Microsoft veteran, is Concur's channel chief. 7. JiRA Atlassian (up from No. 16). ChannelE2E says: Atlassian continues to enhance its JIRA Service Desk platform. As a result, some pundits think the platform is set to compete more aggressively against IT service management and ticket management platforms like Zendesk (No. 9). 8. Slack (up from No. 12). ChannelE2E says: Some of the hype has subsided, but Slack still remains among the fastest-growing collaboration platforms. 9. Zendesk (down from No. 7). ChannelE2E says: Some VARs and MSPs are adopting Zendesk, but CEO Mikkel Svane says the platform remains mainly a direct sales play. 10. ADP (I don't believe they were ranked last year). ChannelE2E says: Among the world's best-known payroll management brands.

11. Dropbox (down from No. 10). ChannelE2E says: Channel Chief Hank Humphreys has been accelerating Dropbox's partner program. 12. DocuSign (down from No. 9). ChannelE2E says: The eSignature company in early 2016 hired IBM veteran Mark Register to drive DocuSign's partner program. 13. WebEx (I don't believe they were ranked last year). ChannelE2E says: Cisco, which owns WebEx, is striving to move more and more of its hardware and software to subscription-based services for partners and customers. 14. Confluence, owned by Atlassian (I don't believe they were ranked last year). ChannelE2E says: Another popular team collaboration platform, this one owned by Atlassian. Sister platform JiRA sits at No. 7. 15. Meraki, owned by Cisco Systems (I don't believe they were ranked last year). ChannelE2E says: One of the best examples of a Cisco acquisition that paid big dividends. Continue to page two to see the top SaaS and cloud applications ranked No. 16 through 25. Also, a look at the fastest-growing SaaS providers as well. Welcome to page two. Here are the top SaaS and cloud applications ranked No. 16 through 25, according to Okta. Also, a look at the fastest-growing SaaS providers. 16. LinkedIn (down from No. 8). ChannelE2E says: Now owned by Microsoft, watch for major Office 365 and Dynamics 365 integrations to emerge. 17. ServiceNow (I don't believe they were ranked last year). ChannelE2E says: ServiceNow CEO Frank Slootman says large MSPs are embracing the IT service management platform. Also, big consulting firms like Atos are acquiring ServiceNow consulting partners.

18. GoToMeeting (down from No. 15). ChannelE2E says: Citrix Systems essentially spun off this business and merged it with LogMeIn. That move has allowed Citrix to effectively refocus its partner program, according to Channel Chief Craig Stilwell. 19. Twitter (down from No. 11). ChannelE2E says: President Trump's social media handle keeps Twitter in the headlines. But Twitter itself is suffering from staff turnover and ever-changing business plans. 20. GoDaddy (down from No. 14). ChannelE2E says: GoDaddy's recent buyouts of Host Europe Group and FreedomVoice should offer new partner opportunities. 21. Adobe Creative Cloud (down from No. 13). ChannelE2E says: Adobe's shift to SaaS-oriented subscriptions initially worried customers and Wall Street. But so far, so good. 22. GitHub (up from No. 23). ChannelE2E says: The ultimate hub for developers building software? Perhaps yet. 23. FedEx US (down from No. 18). ChannelE2E says: At some point, Amazon will increasingly disrupt this business. 24. Workday (down from No. 19). ChannelE2E says: Workday CFO Robynne Sisco says the company's continued growth will require more professional services partners. But so far, CEO Aneel Bhusri says the company has little need for resellers...

25. NetSuite (down from No. 22). ChannelE2E says: Acquired by Oracle for more than $9 billion, NetSuite is best known for its SaaS-based ERP platform. The company also has a strong partner program, thanks to Channel Chief Craig West. But don't overlook NetSuite's OpenAir PSA platform, which is popular with some midmarket IT consulting firms. Among the companies that fell off the Top 25 list this year vs. last year, we believe, are:

Facebook (No. 17 last year)
Outlook Web Access (No. 20 last year; perhaps lumped into the Office 365 figures this year?)
Google Analytics (No. 21 last year)
Google Apps Admin (No. 24 last year)