Re: [PLUG] Re: MS and SaaS (was Hello!)

[Matt Ayres <matta@tektonic.net>]

Brent Saner wrote:
> MY that's barbaric!
> first we had to pay money to install software, now we have to pay 
> money to USE software? shall we need to acquire a license to LEARN 
> about software next?
>
> from a service standpoint, i can understand why it would cost money- 
> you'd need servers to host that at the expense of your company instead 
> of the client.
> but why would you do that? i'd think that practically, it'd only have 
> a very limited usage.

I hate to keep using Exchange as my example (since this is a Linux list, 
therefore at least a mild anti-MS stance), but it is probably the 
easiest to explain as it is software that you can buy standalone too.

To purchase:
Windows Software - $2000+
Windows Upgrade every few years - $1000+
Exchange Software - $2000+
Exchange Upgrade every few years - $1000+
Server - $3000-5000
Consultant fees to set it all up - $1000+
Colocation fees - $100/mo

(Most of these are quick guestimates, but not very far off)

So for a small business wanting to host 50 e-mails on an Exchange server 
we're looking at roughly $8k before you can even setup your first mail 
account and then colo fees monthly.  Want to host it at your office? A 
T1 will set you back a good $600/mo and will be a single point of 
failure. Keep in mind hardware will fail, consultants will need to 
re-hired to fix any issues (or kept on retainer), and software will need 
to be upgraded. I didn't even dive into the backup issue as there are 
too many possible scenarios, but you should add on at least few thousand 
for that (along with more colo fees for your backup device/server).

Using Exchange for the same 50 users as a SaaS model gets you up and 
running in a few hours, minimal or no setup fee, automatic & free 
software upgrades, backups, and support/management for $5-10/mo per user 
(varies depending on the provider you choose) or $300/mo+ if you want to 
go with a dedicated server.

Of course, most SaaS is designed for the web so a standalone product is 
not available -- the most prominent example of this is WebEx, which is a 
workgroup collaboration application.

I think the part you missed was that you don't pay to install the 
software with SaaS, only to use it.

> On Nov 6, 2007
> 6:56 PM, Matt Ayres <matta@tektonic.net <mailto:matta@tektonic.net>> 
> wrote:
>
>     Also, since this is the first time most people are hearing of SaaS -
>     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_as_a_Service
>
>
>
> --
> Brent Saner
> 215.264.0112(cell)
> 215.362.7696(residence)
>
> http://www.thenotebookarmy.org <http://www.thenotebookarmy.org>
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