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Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

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01 Relevance

Consume ready-made functionalities

Software as a Service (SaaS) appears both in the form of entire applications, such as the CRM system Salesforce, or as specialized components for selected tasks, such as Google Maps. A good IT solution for a use case will therefore always use ready-made SaaS services instead of developing them itself, provided they fulfill the desired functionality. This also applies to in-house software, which can of course also be offered to customers and internally as Software-as-a-Service. Lower development costs, higher operational stability, better maintainability and a greater wealth of features regularly speak in favor of using SaaS services.

Only pay for what you use

SaaS services are usually billed according to the "pay-as-you-go" method. This means that you only pay for what you use. Some services also offer quantity-based scaling. For most use cases, it is therefore also cheaper to integrate or use ready-made solutions. Only very specific solutions or solutions with a very large volume can be developed more cost-effectively in-house if the SaaS provider does not offer an "enterprise" price list. As a rule, the consumption-based solution is cheaper than reinventing the wheel, especially when creating new solutions.

Interchangeability
"So test he who binds himself forever" applies not only at the altar but also when choosing a service provider. Consumption-based billing is always based on a subscription contract. This means that the user no longer "owns" the software and cannot remove it from the service provider's sphere of influence, e.g. by installing it in their data center. This is because SaaS services usually run on the cloud infrastructure of the manufacturer or provider. They can therefore keep the software up to date centrally, which increases security and operational stability, but errors can also creep in or unfavorable pricing policies can be implemented centrally. We therefore always ensure that the service provider can be replaced. This does not have to be a shock, but can also take the form of a multi-vendor strategy: We then use several providers for the same service.

02 Success factors

Software-as-a-Service, like cloud services, gives the creator tremendous power and opens up countless possibilities. As there are two sides to every coin, important economic and technical aspects must also be taken into account here, which can be decisive for success:

  • Dependency and lock-in effects
  • Calculability of usage fees
  • Data security and data protection
  • Operational management and traceability
  • Limits of individual SaaS services and their infrastructure
For these and other aspects of responsible IT architecture, the specific functional, technical and legal requirements must be defined, scrutinized and understood. Solutions can then be developed and discussed that take the objectives into account. If this is not done, this step will have to be taken later - at greater expense and with accompanying criticism.
We are aware of the aspects that are critical to success and ask the right questions about every project. We are also able to separate what is technically possible from what makes economic sense and only aim for one thing: complete project success as well as secure operation and needs-based further development.

03 Procedure

Fit-gap analysis

Which business requirements are to be solved by the SaaS service? How should it be embedded in the workflow or business transactions in detail? Does the service fulfill all aspects critical to success? What alternatives are there? It all starts with the task definition. Only when it is clear which problems the SaaS service solves and how should it be shortlisted. Because a lot is promised in the abstract, while success lies in the fulfillment of concrete details. Consequently, we scrutinize and test all relevant aspects independently of the vendor's marketing promises.

Quality and consistency

If a SaaS service meets the desired requirements, we put it through its technical paces. We also keep a close eye on the provider behind it: How does it behave in the event of problems? How reliable and uninterrupted is the service? Does the provider change the service so that adjustments are necessary? Only if the overall impression is right do we take the next step and embed the service deeper into the process flow and route higher volumes through it.

Positive skepticism

Software-as-a-Service shares many characteristics with ordinary consumer goods such as electricity or telephony. In principle, they can be replaced more quickly, but must also be embedded in the application architecture. We therefore always maintain a healthy skepticism towards the providers, even if we generally assume positive intentions. Ultimately, it is not us who have to earn the trust of our clients every day, but also our business partners.

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