You’re in need of contract lifecycle management software. You’ve found a product that is a good fit for your organization. However, some of these products are offered as a SaaS deployment, some products are offered as a local deployment, and some products can be offered as both a SaaS or local deployment option; and you are unsure which option is the most beneficial for your business. Do not worry. Your questions, concerns and uncertainties about which deployment option is right for your business will be answered in the reading that follows. Before you make a decision, the benefits of both the SaaS and locally deployed option should be outlined.Why SaaS?
First of all, what is a SaaS deployment? SaaS is simply an acronym for “Software As A Service”. And this term can most easily be defined as having the contract management software installed and hosted on the software vendor’s servers as a cloud-based solution. This simply means that the software will not be installed onto your company’s servers, it will stay hosted by the software company and you will be able to access the software through the Internet.
In choosing this option, there a few key benefits that can be outlined. First, through a SaaS deployment, the contract management software vendor will bear the responsibilities and expenses of managing and monitoring all of the possible technical components and issues that are associated with the software. This is beneficial because your company will not be responsible for the software updates, server maintenance, data backups, disaster recovery, etc. The system is typically available quicker without the need of IT intervention for the provisioning and/or ongoing maintenance.
Another benefit of the Saas deployment is that it typically involves lower first year costs. This is beneficial because, although there may be recurring subscription fees, these costs are made up of that software maintenance that was mentioned before. Therefore, organizations are able to achieve their return on investment quicker and easier.
Why Locally Deployed?
Now that we have looked at the benefits of the SaaS deployment option, we can now look at the benefits of the local deployment option. Unlike the SaaS option, the locally deployed option is installed and hosted on your organization’s servers. This means that your company will purchase a perpetual license that will allow you to access the contract management software through your servers and behind your firewall.
This option also has a few benefits that are involved with it. The first is that it includes a one-time perpetual licensing fee, along with the option of annual maintenance by the contract management software supplier. The benefit of this is that, even if you have the software deployed on your company’s servers, you are not stranded in terms of software maintenance. You have the option of allowing the software vendor to perform the highly recommended software update support, but you are not required to. The second benefit, is that this option realizes lower annual recurring costs. Rather than annual license subscription fees, the locally installed option only entails optional annual support & maintenance services.
As shown, when it comes to making your decision of implementing either SaaS or locally deployed, there are benefits for each option. For SaaS, you do not have to worry about taking any responsibility for the maintenance, managing, monitoring, or troubleshooting of your software’s servers; and that comes with a lower first year cost.
On the other hand, for the locally deployed option, your organization takes the responsibility for server maintenance, backups, updates, etc.; however, you have the option of paying a one-time fee for licensing. With these benefits outlined, it should make your contract management solution decision easier, along with alleviating any concerns or uncertainties. Of course, you can also speak with a CobbleStone contract management consultant to discuss your organization’s specific deployment needs.
About CobbleStone Software and Contract Insight™
CobbleStone has helped thousands of contract professions better manage their contracts and contract compliance for more than 20 years. Learn more about Contract Insight™ Contract Management Software by visiting us at http://www.CobbleStoneSystems.com and sign up for a free demo.
