News from The Cloud: NetSuite and that vision thing

The main issue I personally have with SaaS (Software as a Service) providers is that they have devised a model that works best for them (e.g. to have everything running from within a single place/data centre) and not always what's best for the end user client.

Whilst the majority of SaaS based solutions provide end user clients with lower set up costs for the majority this is a double edge sword as many will end up paying considerably more over time through higher monthly service charges. Clearly the SaaS model isn't only about providing financial savings (however part of the purchasing decision usually involves numbers) and for many organisations it allows them to reduce internal IT resource or the need to train staff on particular new skill sets etc.

SaaS isn't always a magic bullet either as many organisation have concerns around data security (in a shared infrastructure environment), lack of performance if the service provider experiences a surge in usage etc.

Many organisations have or are moving away from traditional hardware/software solution to utilising SaaS that is run in a hosted environment however there is a half way house that many organisations have missed which is an on site bases SaaS solution that is delivered using an Appliance based Software Delivery model.

The following article describes the pro's/con's of the 3 main IT delivery approaches - Traditional hardware/software, Appliance based Software Delivery and SaaS (Software as a Service).

http://www.sharptechnology.co.uk/blog/appliance-based-software-delivery-...

Best Regards

Mark Hutchinson
www.sharptechnology.co.uk

While this may be true at the more corporate end of the market, SaaS is delivering significant benefits for SMEs, from sole proprietors to medium-sized companies who don't have dedicated IT resource.

For these customers, software acquisition under the SaaS model usually carries a much lower cost than traditional software - for example, a typical small business in the UK might spend £1,000 buying Sage accounting software with support cover, but could save 85% of that cost by going down the SaaS roue.

While you might think that buying traditional software is cheaper in the long run compared to paying ongoing SaaS fees every month, the savings go on in subsequent years at the level of 65% (more details here: http://tinyurl.com/saveoversage).

When you also take account of the surrounding costs associated with hardware, support and backups, the full TCO makes SaaS even more compelling. One SME we deal with says they save over £100,000 per annum by using SaaS. (Details here: Using SaaS to Slash Your Operating Costs).

While I don't doubt the veracity of Gartner's findings across the whole market, it ignores the great work being done amongst vendors to SMEs that's driving significant economies into a vast number of businesses.

Mark Davies
e-conomic

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