SaaS Checklist for Your Business Customer

• Budget available for migration
• Deployment strategy
• Timeline
• Usage models
• Integration strategy
• Security requirements
• Customization plan
• Data needs
• User needs
• Performance requirements
• Solution architecture

Budget

Customers may have difficulty getting up-front approval for a large enterprise SW license purchase, or the end customer may not want to spend the time it takes to do that.

Deployment strategy

In some cases, companies may want to pilot with an individual business user or a small business unit before rolling out to the whole organization. That way they can refine the implementation, and also avoid a lengthly IT or purchasing process.

Timeline

Considerations of timeline are always important. End users may want to get started right away, but IT may need or want to define the right integration and solution architecture first.

Usage Models

Conduct a needs assessment, evaluating all the ways the application would be used. Then compare each usage against a service versus in-house implementation: which is better suited?

Integration Complexity

Consider what other systems in the enterprise the app needs to interact or integrate with.

Security Requirements

Can they be met with a SaaS implementation? Consider on-demand security solutions.

Customization

How much is required, and have you proven that your application can support it? Don't take off more than you (or your product) can chew. Also, make sure that the customer understands the commitment of time and resources on their part is required for any customization, and that they are fully bought into that.

Data Requirements

If the company requires data to be on-site, or relies extensively on real-time data integration, this can be a good reason to keep the software in-house rather than a service.

End User Preferences

Do they (purchasing) prefer perpectual licenses, or subscriptions, or service offerings? Sticking with their preference, if it fits the other requirements, can make it less of an up-hill battle to sell into their purchasing department.

Performance

This goes back to the usage models and expectations of the customer users. If the application is very sensitive to network latency, for example, is an on-demand service going to satisfy the needs of the business users? If not, best to stick with an in-house implementation.

Also, how distributed are the users? Forrester studies showed that enterprises operating in multiple geographies with more than 25 percent of users in remote locations tend to benefit from SaaS.

Using a SaaS Checklist

Before you start piloting a SaaS deployment, write down a checklist that all users, stakeholders and decision makers can agree on. This will help streamline the process and ensure a successful outcome.

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