SaaS: Friend Or Foe?
By Jeffrey M. Kaplan
Published June 2007; Posted August 2007

Abstract:

Software-as-a-service offerings are expanding, and gaining more acceptance.

How would you like to just stop deploying enterprise software, stop monitoring application performance, and stop participating in the finger-pointing and second-guessing which occurs when there are performance problems? That’s the basic attraction of software-as-a-service (SaaS).

Customers access SaaS applications and data via the Web and essentially rent the application from the SaaS provider on a per-user or per-month basis. The SaaS provider is responsible for delivering, securing and managing the application, data and underlying infrastructure.

SaaS sounds good, but you need to also consider the main trade-off: Someone else will be responsible for your organization’s application performance and for safeguarding your corporate data. Is your organization ready to make that kind of trade-off?
 

About the author:

Jeff Kaplan is the managing director of THINKstrategies, specializing in IT service strategies, including managed services, software-as-a-service (SaaS), outsourcing and utility computing.

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