Re: Important Distinction
Also, and this is going to be bordering on a rant here,
I wish people would stop acting like hosted solutions were from the devil. They Aren't.
I also wish that people would stop acting like it's 2002 where we could have a technical solution that remained compatible with the rest of the wider world for longer than 18 months. - We don't live in that world any more.
I have lots of clients 1, 2, or even 3 years into ongoing SaaS solutions, which are happier today than they were the day they signed up. The reason, overwhelmingly, is ongoing support for new devices and the far lower pain and cost threshold to stay current.
In the past few months, here is what I have observed with my own two eyes:
A business who now has access to great (usable) CRM self service sites and mobile apps whereas their competitor doesn't (because they are using an on-premise install which needs a $XX,XXX upgrade to provide that functionality)
An office who made a big leap forward in productivity by leveraging heavy use of one drive and the new iPad office suite with remote employees.
A firm, who had a dramatic increase in throughput in their estimating department due to new functionality introduced in a core package that, in it's older on-premise history, would have been exceedingly difficult and costly to upgrade.
At the end of the day, the people I see buying and utilizing SaaS solutions are overwhelming appreciative of the fact that they aren't stuck with a system only compatible with the technology that existed when it launched, or having to shell out a meaningful percentage of the original whole on a regular basis just to stay current.
Arguably, at least for my clients, that is the true selling point of the competent SaaS solutions. The recognition that we live in a world changing faster than ever with expectations of ongoing support and integration for as-yet-dreamt-up technology. In that world, there needs to be a sane way of providing day to day ongoing development for compatibility, integration, and features that don't amount to a bill for 50~60% of the original purchase cost in upgrade fees and consulting time every 18~24 months.
Karl P