Let me begin with a few thought provoking questions.
Why are service providers opting for cloud deployments to take their services to customers? Do these players, while requiring faster go-to-market, adhere to the necessary norms of security, reliability and scalability? Are enterprises, whether startups or big organizations, choosing cloud-based services for their workforce? Are these entities striving to reduce the total cost of ownership, without compromising on quality?
Let me begin with the fundamentals of cloud computing, before deep diving into why one model may be chosen over another and how to best leverage the same, to gain (and retain) a competitive edge.
First, the basics! Primarily, there are four models that are discussed, including:
Next, it is necessary to examine which party manages the different components in different models.
Choose the right model for your services
As a software service provider, whether a startup or a small or a large company, one needs to realize that not all of one’s offerings and products could be deployed on cloud or on a particular cloud computing model. It becomes really important for one to understand which model is best fit to meet business objectives and what the customers’ expectations are. This is, simply put, because each model entails certain benefits and limitations. One needs to ensure a tradeoff amongst multiple (and sometimes conflicting) factors, including (but not limited to), time and effort required; time to market; Interoperability and Integration; customization; security, customers’ preferences and most importantly the product’s construct.
Software as a service Model – To capture the market fast and far
Today, a significant number of software companies are moving towards providing their offerings in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. For service providers, it is a win-win, keeping in mind the competitive advantage accrued. This is particularly true in terms of service adoption and acceptance rate through equal opportunities to a large or a small company, reduced marketing expenses, reduced infrastructure cost by bringing multiple customers on the common infrastructure and moving to a single release concept, by enabling or disabling features, as per the customer’s requirements.
In short, one is able to ensure flexibility in terms of providing different pricing buckets for different sets of features as required by the customer. Of course, let’s not forget the advantages accrued to the customer themselves. They can begin using the software rapidly and with little upfront cost; they get a variety of pricing options, specially ‘pay-as-you-go’ models; maintenance and updates cost can be avoided; and most importantly, they get run time capacity upgrades as the service usage increases instead of any need of dedicated capacity commitments upfront. Clearly, a win-win!
Are you ready to take a plunge?
Net, net, SaaS is, indeed, the most viable tool in any organization’s arsenal, particularly when it comes to expanding the business, scaling up or ensuring a seamless customer experience. Unsurprising, really, considering that digital transformation is on every entity’s agenda. What makes the difference is a well-timed push, in the right direction!
