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Forget ASP. SaaS tool aren't your father's hosted applications. Robust server farms and apps built for online delivery mean that today's hosted apps are less about compromise than they are about improved efficiency. |
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Price is King. The most obvious appeal of SaaS is the predictability - and typically lower cost - of its per-use per-month model. That alone should be enough to get your SaaS business case approved. |
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Encourage Experimentation. Because new applications don't need to be set up separately, SaaS offerings are typically easier to play with. Encourage business managers to keep abreast of new modules or upgrades, ensuring they are always aware of tools that could improve operations. |
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Keep a good grip on the leash. Giving business managers carte blanche to install and configure applications is only asking for trouble. Make sure they work with, and not independently of, the IT organisation so that SaaS applications don't compromise existing security, data protection, user authentication and other policies. |
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You can still integrate. They may be running somewhere else, but that doesn't mean hosted applications can't link up with your own systems. Use APIs and integration expertise to help data from SaaS tools through to your other external systems. |
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Availability is good enough. The media jumped on SalesForce.com's triple outage earlier this year, but users say hosted apps are generally more reliable than the ones they run in-house. |
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Learn to let go. It may seem strange having your data hosted by a third party, but you can bet they're aware of the risk you're taking. Work with providers to ensure data protection meets acceptable governance standards. |
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Have bandwidth to burn. With large numbers of employees using hosted applications, your Internet bandwidth usage profile is about to change. Ensure you have ample bandwidth to keep performance strong. |
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Go Mobile. One largely untapped benefit of SaaS is that applications can just as easily be accessed from the road as from the office. Once you're up and running, consider how a few well-placed online phones could further improve performance. |
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Think outside the box. Sales force automation and customer relationship management have driven SaaS market to where it is now, but almost any non-physical business process could benefit from the mode. Keep abreast of both major vendor initiatives and smaller SaaS aspirants to ensure you've capitalised on every opportunity for improvement. |
