The Benefits of Software-as-a-Service Model

  • Article

When you come out for our Momentum events this quarter, you not only get lunch but you get an ongoing discussion of Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite of products that can be hosted for your company. I came across an article that covers the benefits that I mention when I am speaking to you at our events. It has been published for a while but the benefits still apply and are right on the mark. Here is some of the article:

Analysts claim that by 2010 30% of new software will be delivered via a Saas model. Some of the benefits that you get out of going towards a Software-as-a-Service model include:

  • The cost of entry is low. Instead of paying lots of money to roll out complex technology across the entire company, customers can roll out just one test department of, say, 20 people. The risk is very low if it fails, and the company doesn't have to involve its busy IT staff.
  • The onus is on the vendor. If the vendor's software is broken, the vendor won't be getting money from any customer for long. The vendor is motivated to fix the problem.
  • The vendor works for the buyer. Customers don't have to rely on their IT departments to install an application. Everything is running securely at the vendor's location.
  • Less-risky investment. Instead of spending $60,000 all at once, for example, customers pay for the software monthly. The monetary risk is lower and less scary.
  • Vendors must provide a secure data environment, or they're out of a job. Most vendors understand that data must be backed up religiously, and security is the top priority. Customers' IT departments are typically pulled in many directions and can't be as focused on one technology. Customers can assume their data security is probably safer when it's hosted.

These are some good reasons for considering the Software-as-a Service model. The article also includes some questions that you can ask your software vendor when determining whether on-premise or hosted is right for your business. Read the entire article here.

See you in Minneapolis, Portland, Seattle, and Washington DC this week. Go to www.msmmevents.com to register and get location information. Click on "Where is Momentum Today".

Thanks,

Stephanie