Crossroads Blog
Hosting
Making Sense of SaaS, Cloud Computing and Hosted Solutions
As a business owner, you probably have many questions about hosting:
- Is SaaS or cloud computing right for my business?
- What are the benefits of hosted solutions?
- Should I invest in hardware or software and host my applications in-house?
There is certainly a place for SaaS abd cloud computing in the business. Most companies outsource their web sites, and that alone incorporates SaaS and cloud computing services. So this is nothing new. Yet, when companies start to use SaaS and cloud computing for their critical line of business applications or for 100% of their infrastructures, you need to ask some hard questions.
There are more questions about these technologies than we can list here; and most of them can't be answered without a true understanding of your business goals and strategies, your philosophy and your tolerance for risks. When researching a hosted solution there are several important questions you need to ask:
- What is the life expectancy of the SaaS or cloud computing use?
- If my SaaS or cloud computing hosts go out of business, am I out of business?
- If I fail to pay my monthly fee to my SaaS or cloud vendor, can I run my business without the application and data?
- If I want to switch SaaS or cloud vendors, what is the switching process and what are the obstacles, costs, and potential business interruption?
- What are my vendor's business goals? Is its exit strategy to sell out? If so, will I find myself with a new vendor whose business model, strategy and R&D investment are out of line with my company's?
Crossroads Business Solutions can guide you through the decision-making process and identify and implement the solutions that are right for your business.