Lately, I am thinking a lot about Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). I can easily see the benefits of SaaS, which I will not discuss here. But I have concerns too, especially in using SaaS on an enterprise scale. Currently, using SaaS means accessing applications (e.g. a word processor, or a spreadsheet application) through the web. The benefits of that are easy enough to grasp. I have more difficulties grasping this on a bigger scale: using SaaS on enterprise scale. Here are the questions that I have at the moment: 1. How sensible and safe is it to base important, critical parts of your business on SaaS? Suppose you would use SaaS for something strongly data centric such as ERP. In such a case, the ERP Service provider is responsible not only for providing the required functionality and UI, but also for providing storage of all your data. In other words: would you trust your data to the service provider? Should a government use SaaS in that way for examle? What if the SaaS provider goes bankrupt? 2. Do you always have to accept changes made to the software by the SaaS provider? With classic software, you can use a certain version of that software as long as your system can support it, even after the vendor of that software has stopped providing support for that version. A property of SaaS that is often named as a benefit is that you always have the latest version. Is that really always a benefit? Businesses using SaaS will base their workflows on the functionality and user interfaces of provided software. 3. Is SaaS mature enough for providing enterprise level QoS? Will it ever be? This concern is related to my first question. Basing critical parts of your business on SaaS requires certain guarantees about availability, reliability and performance. Can such service level agreements be made individually for every business? Don't get me wrong, I really digg the concept of SaaS. I am a definitive adopter of SaaS. However, I feel that these are important issues that I would want answers for before I would advise SaaS on an enterprise scale. The Progress Software Foundation is providing some answers, which is reassuring. Maybe I am thinking too far ahead. Tell me what you think.
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I think that these are all valid questions Mark. My view though is that you are leaping straight to considering the endgame. For me the cloud and SaaS are on a journey that will see them mature and answer your concerns. Stating the obvious, anything that is good now was once under development.
For me the more immediate question (which is, perhaps, the precursor to 3 above) is whether it will transition from a good idea adopted by some to business as usual adopted by many. To that, I'm absolutely committed. As you have said yourself, the benefits are manifest.
For me the more immediate question (which is, perhaps, the precursor to 3 above) is whether it will transition from a good idea adopted by some to business as usual adopted by many. To that, I'm absolutely committed. As you have said yourself, the benefits are manifest.
@Andrew: thanks for the comments. The commitment of early adopters will, as always, turn out to be crucial. For this blog, I use SaaS for scrap book purposes (google docs, gliffy). I do that for a mixture of reasons, a big one still is that I want to make a statement. But that one is getting ever smaller. I am getting to depend more and more on SaaS, and that is where my concerns started to take shape. However, I will take your advise and patiently wait until my concerns evaporate by themselves.
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Nice post. The concerns you mention are THE concerns for enterprise SaaS adoption, inspite of the obvious benefits of SaaS. More than anything, I think it is about a mental shift, of letting go of straightjacketed control of your data. If this mental shift does take place, there are SaaS vendors who are capable to handling the security and scalibility needed for enteprise SaaS. And it has already started to take place. Which is why were hering of massive enterprise SaaS implementations a lot more often. Even with our company, HyperOffice, we are witnessing a similar trend, with more and more large companies joining our customers' ranks. We had done a press release for this recently which you might want to look at - <a href="http://www.hyperoffice.com/enterprise-collaboration/" rel="nofollow">http://www.hyperoffice.com/enterprise-collaboration/</a>
@Pankaj: thanks for the comment. I read the press release you pointed me too. Very interesting! My co-bloggers and several of Capgemini's CTOs made some technology predictions for 2009 year at the end of last year (http://www.capgemini.com/ctoblog/2008/12/technology_predictions_2009_th.php). And your press release confirms our predictions. Always nice to be right :-)
