SaaS business value

by admin on April 18, 2006

in Cloud Computing/SaaS

Saas V On-Premise-3

I’ve recently heard a lot of confusion about how SaaS compares with on-premise applications. The SaaS vendors make a variety of claims but few attempt a rational comparison. The above snapshot is taken from a publicly available spreadsheet hosted at Zoho.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list but an introductoy guide as to the main differences. Feel free to amend/add to etc.

NOTE: there may be some differences in experience depending on the size of business implementing a SaaS v on-premise offering.

Bonus Link: Jeffrey Kaplan at THINKstrategies discusses SaaS myths

UPDATE: The link to the spreadsheet is public/shareable. If you wish to add to/amend and then republish, then go ahead – who knows, you could start a meme. Just ping me to let me know please.

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Tagged as: Cloud Computing/SaaS

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Dennis Howlett

Hey fellas - the table's available as a publicly editable spread - anyone wants to get on there, amend and republish at their place - feel free, just ping me when it's done.

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Karl Waldman

Dennis,
Great table - one minor nit - there can be significant differences in implementation however. In a traditional model, you would typically have to first configure the technology stack (dB, app server, application, security, etc )then load the business data and workflows. In a SaaS model all you need is the business data and workflows, thus you don't need to be an expert in both technology and business process. For my previous startup I implemented both SalesForce and OpenAir and it was trivial no need for my IT guy to get involved.

Also since each technology stack can be different (client likes to have a say in technology stack) -- testing can be significant also.

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Jason Wood

Dennis,

Good start to the conversation, I appreciate the find. Timely, too, given all the misunderstandings abounding about SaaS. While Kaplan's article is well intended, I think he misses the greatest myth of all, that SaaS is going to be the death knell of traditional on premise software.

I've updated my blog on the SaaS myths with your post, FYI...

http://woodrow.typepad.com/the_ponderings_of_woodr...

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David Terrar

This looks a good start for comparison. The topic I'd want to discuss more is implementation. Pure SaaS providers need to be oriented towards customer service and try to make their applications intuitive to minimise training. The aspiration is that the applications should be like Amazon or Internet Banking, where you don't need a training course to use the system. The actual delivery varies greatly between providers, but I'm sure there should be a significant difference compared to traditional software in many cases.

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