Bill PrayShamelessly borrowing a bit from Shakespeare – SaaS or on-premises? That is the question.
This question is becoming more common place regarding applications that have been previously restricted to or best deployed in an on-premises software implementation.
The answer requires a two-pronged evaluation:
1. Identification of the enterprise’s requirements for the application
2. Evaluation of the SaaS and/or software provider
Through identification of the enterprise’s requirements for an application, IT can compare the SaaS version of an application to the on-premises version and scorecard them against the enterprise’s requirements – e.g. How does it fit into business process? Is it mission critical? If yes, how is it mission critical?, What features are required? Who needs to use it? And so forth…
Evaluation of a SaaS provider can get a bit tricky, however. Enterprises must develop their own set of core requirements based on their intended use and needs for the applications. The key to a successful evaluation and assessment is transparency from the cloud providers in response to questions and criteria presented by an informed enterprise IT team. Otherwise, the enterprise is susceptible – to borrow from Shakespeare again – to suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
“To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether ’tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles…
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