Choosing SaaS.
The key point in any software choice is the difference in Total Cost of Ownership and risk regardless of how they are developed and delivered.
Any company delivering software or services incurs costs and risks that have to be charged somewhere – whether it is in the form of charging for premium services, charged support or simply charging for service provision at a cost that is attractive when compared to alternatives. SaaS makes it possible to reduce the short term costs of adopting new technology, usually to around the same or less than the cost of adopting the OpenSource alternative, where investments need to be made in technology and skills.
The risk profile of SaaS is different to alternatives in that the costs of making a wrong decision are low, trying before making a large investment is easier, and the obligations for maintaining continued support sit clearly with the vendor.
This all adds up to it being the wisest choice for most business operations when adopting new technology. This same logic probably applies for switching technologies – just that the maths, justification, and politics get harder.
The biggest principle for me is about business focus – robust organizations should stick solely to core business – if maintaining tech is not your business, switch to a SaaS provider who specialises in doing just that thing.
(Originally written as a response to http://www.cloudave.com/link/has-saas-killed-oss but I felt worthy of it’s own conversation)
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.