Software Delivery Models

Comparing Approaches and Debunking the Myths

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Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................2
Comparison Chart: Software Delivery Models ....................................................................3
An Overview of the Tree Major Software Delivery Models ..........................................4
On-Premises Software Deployment ............................................................................................... 4
Hosted Software Deployment ......................................................................................................... 5
Software as a Service (SaaS) .............................................................................................................. 6
Te Pros and Cons at a Glance ................................................................................................7
IT and Operational Requirements ..........................................................................................8
Software Procurement ....................................................................................................................... 8
Implementation ................................................................................................................................... 9
IT Operations and Management ...................................................................................................10
Security ...............................................................................................................................................11
Upgrades .............................................................................................................................................12
Business Continuity ..........................................................................................................................13
Ease of Customization .....................................................................................................................14
Service and Support ............................................................................................................... 15
Total Cost of Ownership ....................................................................................................... 16
Conclusion: Software Orientation, Service Orientation ................................................. 18
About Intacct .......................................................................................................................... 19
About Diversity Analysis ...................................................................................................... 20
About the Authors ................................................................................................................. 21
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Introduction
Relentless innovation in the way businesses apply computing power to
automate processes has translated into tremendous gains in just a few short
decades. Te unprecedented benets we enjoy today are virtually taken for
granted - greater velocity, productivity and accuracy along with lower
overall costs and greater operational visibility and insight. A chief contributor
to these improvements is the delivery model that businesses adopt for
consuming and using computing resources.
Te computing industry has evolved from on-premises software
implementations to o-site hosting (and its oshoot, the application
service provider or ASP model) to Software as a Service (SaaS).
Despite signicant dierences among these models, a wide range of
misperceptions and myths persist about each models relative merits and
potential drawbacks. Some even believe that this market confusion caused by
mislabeling and proliferating jargon is a deliberate industry strategy to jockey
for a marketing advantage.
Te following white paper explains, contrasts and compares the three major
software delivery models and provides buyers with useful criteria to evaluate
software oerings and determine the suitability of the approaches to their
unique environment and needs.

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Comparison Chart: Software
Delivery Models
On-premises software Hosted software Software as a Service
Application
Development
Developed as one-
size-ts-all model
Borrows on-premises
software and modies
it for online delivery
Developed from the
ground up for online
delivery
Application
Deployment
Installed on the
customers own
hardware
Installed on vendors
hardware delivered
via the Internet
Installed on vendors
hardware delivered via
the Internet
Implementation Lengthy
implementation time
Lengthy
implementation time
Faster implementation
timeframes
Customization Possible but expensive
and time-consuming
Limited customization
tends to be very
expensive
Customization limited but
an inherent part of the
application
Application
Design
Monolithic client/
server designs
Monolithic with a
simple HTML interface
Designed for the Web
environment and generally
lighter weight
Upgrades 12+ months Depends on
developers upgrade
cycle
Generally monthly or even
more frequently
Integration Can be dicult and
expensive
Can be dicult and
expensive
Readily available via
application programming
interfaces (APIs)
IT Support Generally provided by
the customer
Generally provided
by the customer, with
some vendor support
Generally included in the
package from vendor
Multi-Tenancy Not applicable Each customer requires
an individual instance
Applications are designed
to be multi-tenant
Hardware
Requirements
Requires a specic
operating system
environment
Can require specic
applications
and operating
environments
Delivered via a Web
browser so generally
operating system- and
browser-agnostic
Accountability Generally single-
vendor so support path
is well-dened
Hosting provider and
software developer
are two dierent
organizations so
accountability is
complex
One vendor provides
end-to-end solution so
accountability is inherent
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An Overview of the Tree Major Software
Delivery Models
Perhaps one of the most important and fundamental steps we can take to
understand the dierence between the three major software delivery models
is to properly dene each model. Only then can we trace their evolution and
understand their merits and drawbacks.

On-Premises Software Deployment
Before the widespread availability, aordability and adoption of networks
particularly the Internet on-premises software deployments were virtually
the only choice for businesses. Some examples include large-scale enterprise
resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM)
systems as well as single-user programs such as QuickBooks or Microsoft
Oce. As its name implies, an on-premises implementation is software
thats installed and operated on computer(s) located on the premises of the
software licensee, rather than at a remote facility. Tis model largely dened
and drove the rst generation of business computing.
However, on-premises software is limited in its ability to support remote
access to computing services. Customizations if allowed can be dicult
and expensive. Software vendors also make signicant investments in legacy
code that tend to work poorly in o-premises congurations.

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Hosted Software Deployment
Te increased penetration of the Internet proved to be an unstoppable
inuence on business software. In the 1990s, the combined forces of IT
outsourcing and widespread Internet adoption led many vendors to develop
on-premises-style commercial software but host it o-site and license it to
many dierent customers.
In a hosted deployment, the software physically resides at a third-party
data center the hosting site where it is operationally managed by a
service provider on behalf of the licensee. One o-shoot of this approach
is the application service provider (ASP) model where the vendor provides
additional domain expertise. ASPs specialize in software categories or even
specic software vendors, helping to customize implementations for each
customer.
Regardless of whether it is through an operational hosting provider or ASP,
users access these remote computing resources over a network, typically
the Internet. Each client company accesses its own dedicated instance of
the application that is running at the remote data center which creates
signicant overhead costs.
Te compelling value proposition is that the cost to own and operate
the software is far less if entrusted to an expert organization with the
infrastructure and expertise solely dedicated to delivering that resource to
the customer. Much of the IT overhead cost is transferred to the hosting
provider no longer does the organization need to build, sta, or maintain
its own data center or support desk.
Unfortunately, much of the optimism surrounding the hosted software-
delivery model was unfounded. Flawed business models particularly for
ASPs - combined with integration challenges have left this market segment in
a state of stagnation. Many hosting providers are not the actual developers of
the software program, leaving them largely at the mercy of the developer in
terms of development timetables/roadmaps and features. Whats more, most
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hosting providers are typically better-versed in hardware and networking
issues and unused to dealing with software delivery and customization as
well as end-user customer support challenges.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Aiming to combine the best characteristics of both on-premises software
and outsourced hosting, the Software as a Service (SaaS) model (sometimes
referred to as cloud computing) has emerged as an increasingly compelling
alternative for many licensees. With SaaS, the application developer delivers
shared, scalable services that the customer accesses over the Internet
using a Web browser or mobile device. Teres no need for the customer
to own, license, understand, manage, or control the underlying hardware,
software, or data/networking infrastructure that supports the service. SaaS
is typically delivered on a term-based subscription basis, eliminating the
need for upfront software licensing fees or major hardware purchases. Te
result is cost-eective, anytime/anywhere managed access thats increasingly
attracting a growing number of enterprises and small/medium-sized
businesses.
One of the key tenets of SaaS applications is a concept called multi-tenancy.
In SaaS deployments all customers simultaneously access the same single
instance of the application in the remote data center. Tis means the vendor
can amortize a world-class infrastructure across multiple customers while
reducing costs.
Whats more, well-designed SaaS applications allow for instant provisioning
and upward/downward scalability, parameter-driven customization and
conguration and regular upgrades (instead of the daunting customization-
breaking upgrades required with on-premises or hosted software
implementations). So which model is best for your organization? As you
conduct your evaluation, consider the following metrics and factors.

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Te Pros and Cons at a Glance
On-premises Software
Pros:
Greater end-to-end control of your software
Maintain IP within the organization
Implement signicant customization
Cons:
Generally higher cost
Requires you to build and maintain your own IT infrastructure
Must provide technical support, upgrades, and version control
Upgrades may break any previous customizations
Integration with third-party applications can be dicult/expensive
Hosted/ASP Software
Pros:
Pushes infrastructure costs to the provider
Potentially lower cost than on-premises deployment
Cons:
Very limited customization
Upgrades may break any previous customizations
Support and service is typically an expensive extra charge
Integration with third-party applications can be dicult/expensive
Single tenancy limits the cost-reduction opportunities
Customers have some security concerns
Generally poor usability
Software as a Service
Pros:
Core architecture makes it the most economical choice
Ability to provision almost instantly
Pushes infrastructure, service, and support costs to the vendor
Integration is quick and easy using application programming interfaces (APIs)
Customization available
Upgrades are automatically applied to all users - all customers work with the
same application
Encourages alignment of people/process/system
Cons:
Customers have some security concerns
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IT and Operational Requirements
Some of the more important considerations when choosing a software
deployment model involve the software and hardware required and the
people and skill sets required to properly operate and maintain that IT
infrastructure. Te following issues are key to any decision.
Software Procurement
Simply put, who procures the product and in what manner? With on-
premises or hosted software, you will need to enter into a termed license and
also purchase a maintenance contract simply to take physical possession of
the software. And with on-premises software, the IT department must have
a leadership role in the evaluation/selection process because they will have
to manage the software as well as that softwares potential impact on the rest
of the corporate IT portfolio. By contrast, with SaaS, the business user can
drive the procurement process consulting appropriately with IT colleagues.
Whats more, since SaaS is procured through a monthly, quarterly or annual
subscription fee, there are no upfront licensing fees (which often reach into
six or seven gures) and theres a lower approval threshold and risk prole.
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Implementation
Who is responsible for implementing the chosen solution? For on-premises
deployments, many companies nd that they must implement the software
themselves (a process that can take months and sometimes years) or pay
large dollars for expert consultants and implementation partners. Hosting
providers handle much of the implementation headaches theyre experts,
after all but they are still deploying a dedicated (sometimes customized)
instance of the software, which can take almost as long as on-premises
software deployments. For SaaS implementations, either the vendor or
one of the vendors pre-approved implementation partners is responsible
for rapidly provisioning access to the online application. Even with
customizations, complex SaaS implementations can be completed in just
days or weeks.
Naturally, a lengthy implementation cycle that stretches for many months
means theres a far greater nancial and operational risk to the customer.
From software licensing to hardware to labor and consulting fees, signicant
costs are incurred from day one. But process and productivity improvements
and the payback they represent can often be elusive, stretching years
out into the future. By contrast, SaaS subscriptions require no upfront
licensing fees and no lengthy implementation cycles and no attendant costs,
translating into a far lower level of project risk.

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IT Operations and Management
Todays enterprise IT sta is already bearing a signicant burden, so any
new addition to the application portfolio must survive intense scrutiny and
analysis before winning their approval. Major enterprise applications entail
procurement, deployment, operations and maintenance cycles for software
and IT infrastructure tasks that fall to the licensee in the on-premises
model or the hosting provider in the dedicated-instance hosted-software
model.
With SaaS, those costs shift to the commercial software developer. Te
customer need only sign a subscription contract and the application service is
accessible in much the same manner as a basic utility service: on-demand and
scalable as needed. SaaS vendors achieve this by sharing their world-class
infrastructure across thousands of customers. Whats more, as the developers
and full-time experts in providing this application service, the SaaS vendor
is uniquely qualied to optimize the users experience with respect to
performance, availability and security. Teres no internal IT learning curve
to climb.

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Security
Te ability of on-premises deployments to provide complete control over the
application and infrastructure is initially quite appealing. Many organizations
have resisted hosted or SaaS models because they dont feel comfortable
storing and managing sensitive data in locations not under their direct
control. However, putting security responsibilities on an internal team
provides drawbacks. For example, the cost of proper information security
measures can be prohibitive. Furthermore, on-premises customers must rely
on the software vendor to release appropriate security patches to close any
vulnerabilities in the application that may emerge.
With third-party application hosting, security is outsourced, cutting costs
considerably. However, the eectiveness of that security depends on the
size and capabilities of the service provider. Te single-tenant architecture
localizes any attack to a single customer and reduces the chances of any
security attack aecting all customers. However, this can lead to complacency
and move focus away from the security of their service. As with on-premises
deployments, third-party hosters also passively rely on the software provider
for security patches, opening them to the same disadvantages.
SaaS skeptics suggest that a lack of direct control over SaaS applications and
data could result in a security nightmare for a business. However, this is a
myth based on the erroneous assumption that SaaS providers cannot employ
security professionals with the same strong expertise that many enterprises
do. Te reality is, a security breach for a SaaS company would aect all of
its customers, which provides an incredible incentive to provide ironclad
security measures. Teir business is predicated on the ability to secure their
infrastructure, applications data and operations. Whats more, the SaaS
model has a distinct advantage over on-premises and outsourced hosting
models when it comes to patching application vulnerabilities. Since the SaaS
provider is also the application developer, it can instantly patch application
vulnerabilities.
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Upgrades
As any enterprise IT professional will tell you, upgrades are a never-ending
nightmare in many organizations today. Just deploying the application
(or applying a previous upgrade) can take months. In many instances,
simply achieving a stable, reliable production environment is an extremely
challenging task. And when youre done? Time to do it all over again.
On-premises software means internal enterprise IT teams can be consumed
with an endless cycle of upgrades to business critical applications. Whats
more, the lengthy timeframes to upgrade can jeopardize service contracts or
potentially introduce instabilities and incompatibilities with other operating
systems, peripherals, applications and tools. Te alternative, of course, is
to hire an expensive team of consultants to hopefully expedite the process
and lower the risk. For third-party application hosters, experience can be a
major advantage. After upgrading a customer for the 20th time, theyre likely
very skilled. However, that takes time and consumes lots of resources that
customers may need for other matters. Whats more, upgrades can wreak
havoc on both on-premises and hosted software deployments. New versions
often break previously developed/applied customizations to commercial
code.
By contrast, SaaS oers signicant advantages in the upgrade process. First
and foremost: there are no signicant tasks for the customer. Some well-
communicated advance notice likely mitigates any issues of disruption or
preparation. Te SaaS vendor is the application developer, so there are no
learning curve issues. And in a multi-tenancy model, the upgrade only needs
to be applied once to reach all customers. Teres no need to wait your turn
while waiting for a hosting provider to wend its way through a backlog of
customers seeking the upgrade. Whats more, since all customizations are
already built into the commercial code, the upgrade has no disruptive impact
on the production system. For a SaaS customer, an upgrade is a non-event,
simply appearing one day without any intervention required.
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Business Continuity
As the operator of the software, the on-premises IT team or outsourced
hosting provider must perform all of the routine but critical backup and
o-site data storage tasks to ensure business continuity in the event of natural
disaster, re, civil unrest, or other interruption. Teres no substitute for the
business continuity plan and omitting it is not an option. And that means:
wasted time, expense and overhead devoted to non-strategic activities
especially for on-premises deployments.
By contrast, a SaaS implementation alleviates the need for separate business
continuity eorts related to that SaaS-deployed application. As part of the
regular application subscription, the vendor backs up all customer data
(according to pre-dened service level agreement parameters) o-site and
deploys separate data centers and plans to provide uninterrupted service
during any potential disasters or major unplanned downtime events.
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Ease of Customization
Regardless of deployment model, when a software solution doesnt meet
all your needs out of the box, an important factor is how dicult is it to
congure, customize, or tailor the application to your unique requirements?
On-premises software oers excellent opportunities to build a customized
solution and provides the highest level of customer control. However, highly
customizable environments are expensive, time-consuming and not without
risks. For instance, you might need to make changes to database tables, write
new code in Visual Basic, or spread your customizations into many dierent
areas of commercial code that was written by the vendor. (Of course, for
lower-end commercial software, such as QuickBooks, there may not be any
customization opportunities at all.)
Whats more, when commercial upgrades are applied, your expensive
customizations may break and require lengthy rework and retrotting.
Regression testing of your customizations if its done at all might
overlook subtle issues, incompatibilities and security vulnerabilities that
youve unwittingly introduced. Its a similar story with third-party-hosted,
dedicated instances of the application. One of the major shortcomings
of outsourced application hosting is the lack of domain expertise, making
integration with other systems a major headache.
One of the biggest myths about SaaS is that it lacks customization and
integration options. Unlike what naysayers want you to believe, SaaS
applications are rich with customization and integration features that
are easy to access and congure. Although most SaaS applications oer
customization from a branding point of view, many enterprise-level
SaaS applications are now also oering the option to customize based on
functional needs. Te newest generation of SaaS applications actually oer
customization capabilities that exceed whats possible with traditional on-
premises software. Most importantly, SaaS customizations are preserved
through the upgrade process, so the upgrade becomes a value-added non-
event for the customer.
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Service and Support
Te issues of service and support are somewhat easier to overlook, but
their importance cannot be overstated. When you operate an on-premises
software solution, you assume signicant burdens and costs. You need to
expand your existing (or even create a new) support desk for the application
service. Tat means recruiting, training and retaining talented experts and
delivering support and coverage as business needs dictate to support users.
Tere are IT-facing issues as well. Te on-premises customer must ensure
the infrastructure devoted to the application is running at peak performance
with acceptable levels of reliability, availability, security and performance.
Ten, of course, when issues arise, it can be daunting to track down the
source of the issue and hold the appropriate vendor accountable. Get ready
for a lot of nger-pointing. Collectively, thats a tall order, which is why
many outsource these tasks to hosting providers. However, many hosted-
application arrangements are characterized by confusion over who provides
the support: the hosting provider, the application developer, or the customer.
In some models, the hosting provider provides direct support to end users. In
other instances, the hosting provider only trains the customers IT help desk,
which then directly handles level-one support calls from users. Clarity on
these matters is essential.
In the SaaS application-delivery model, its simple. Tere is a single vendor
providing the entire service who is responsible and accountable for both the
product and service/support issues.
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Total Cost of Ownership
Any comparison of software deployment models must address the critical
issue of cost. In this paper, we approach this from a total cost of ownership
(TCO) perspective that encompasses everything from licensing or
subscription fees to labor costs and infrastructure investments.
Even before the current economic downturn, businesses scrambled to
reduce their operational costs. Not only are they looking to cut overall
costs, but many are seeking to move costs out of capital budgets and into
operating budgets. Te drivers for this are simple - capital expenditures
tend to have a long and complex approval process and create a disconnect
between the revenue generated by a nancial outlay, and the outlay itself.
Moving expenditures to the operating line more closely aligns them with
revenue generation, eases the approvals process and avoids the sunk cost
issue where organizations are reluctant to move away from projects with
signicant historical capital expenditure - regardless of their eectiveness.
On-premises is the most expensive of the three models, presenting a very
high TCO. Te infrastructure costs for running the data center, licensing fees,
upgrade and maintenance fees and labor costs result in extensive capital and
operating expenses. Te restrictions and barriers presented by traditional
software applications combined with the responsibilities arising from
deployment and management of the applications inside the data center often
makes on-premises applications prohibitively expensive with uncertain ROI
and very long payback periods. Other factors contributing to the runaway
TCO of on-premises applications include implementation costs and internal
support costs. In a challenging economic climate, the on-premises model
may well turn out to be a business handicap for any organization.
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Although outsourced hosting is less expensive than the on-premises model,
it still presents higher costs that SaaS because of the single tenancy delivery
model and the signicant licensing costs. Tere are other components to
TCO like the cost of application upgrades, additional support costs and
more. Compared to the SaaS model, the outsourced hosting model has
proven to be very cost inecient.
SaaS is the most cost-eective model with a very low TCO. First, the
SaaS vendor assumes more responsibility than hosting service providers -
demanding no capital expenditures from the customer. And since the SaaS
vendor is also the actual application developer, licensing costs are also not
a factor. SaaS vendors utilize a multi-tenant architecture to save on the
costs of oering the application as a service. Tis cost savings is passed on
to customers resulting in a lower TCO. Whats more, the absence of any
upgrade, implementation, or maintenance fees accelerates the payback
of the SaaS approach. Te cost components of SaaS are for subscriptions
and training. Compared to the huge upfront licensing and training fees for
traditional on-premises software, the cost of SaaS is much lower.

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Conclusion: Software Orientation,
Service Orientation
Given the numerous operational, functional and nancial advantages, SaaS
deployments are gaining increased attention from enterprises seeking
smarter, more ecient ways to access and deploy critical computing
resources inside and outside their organizations. With its software
orientation and service commitment, SaaS in many ways represents a
best of both worlds perspective, combining the control and innovation of
on-premises software with the speed and convenience of the outsourced
hosting models all with rapid innovation and lower cost. As this innovative
software-delivery model gains further momentum, software evaluators would
be well-advised to give SaaS careful consideration.
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About Intacct
Intacct is the market and technology leader in cloud computing nancial
management and accounting applications for small and midsized businesses,
and the preferred nancial applications for AICPA business solutions. Intacct
applications are used by thousands of businesses from startups to public
companies and are designed to improve company performance and make
nance more productive. Te Intacct system includes project accounting,
contract management, revenue recognition, inventory, purchasing, vendor
management, nancial consolidation and nancial reporting applications,
all delivered over the Internet via Software as a Service (SaaS). Intacct is
headquartered in San Jose, Calif. For more information, please visit www.
intacct.com or call 877-437-7765.
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About Diversity Analysis
Diversity Analysis is a broad spectrum consultancy specialising in SaaS,
Cloud Computing and business strategy. Our research focuses on the trends
in these areas with greater emphasis on technology, business strategies,
mergers and acquisitions. Te extensive experience of our analysts in the eld
and our closer interactions with both vendors and users of these technologies
puts us in an unique position to understand their perspectives perfectly and,
also, to oer our analysis to match their needs. Our Analysts take a deep
dive into the latest technological developments in the above mentioned
areas. Tis, in turn, helps our clients stay ahead of the competition by taking
advantage of these newer technologies and, also, by understanding any
pitfalls they have to avoid.
Our Oerings: We oer both analysis and consultancy in the areas related
to SaaS and Cloud Computing. Our focus is on technology, business strategy,
mergers and acquisitions. Our methodology is structured as follows:
Research Alerts
Research Briengs
Whitepapers
Case Studies
We also participate in various conferences and are available for vendor
briengs through Telephone and/or Voice Over IP.
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About the Authors
Ben Kepes
Ben is the founder and managing director of Diversity Limited, a
consultancy specializing in Cloud Computing/SaaS, Collaboration, Business
strategy and user-centric design. He is also editor of Diversity Blog, a
specialist Cloud Computing blog. More information on Ben and Diversity
Limited can be found at http://diversityanalysis.com/
Krishnan Subramanian
Krish is an entrepreneur, open source researcher and evangelist,
cloud computing analyst and consultant, ex-physicist, and one of the
industrys most prolic bloggers. He is part of the management team in
two companies in India and sits on the board of a few privately owned
companies. More information about Krish can be found at http://www.
krishworld.com/.