Traditionally, On-Demand, or Software as a Service (SaaS), was geared towards smaller enterprises. Recently there has been a strong and growing interest in On-Demand solution as an enterprise solution for large businesses.
Major Concerns to adopting an On-Demand Solution
There are several concerns shared by clients when considering a SaaS solution. The two main concerns which I have heard repeated time and time again are scalability and security.
Scalability
A typical concern for large enterprises to adopting an on-demand solution is its scalability. How well can it really work with 5000+ sales people today, how well could it scale up to 20,000+ sales people tomorrow. When I asked this question to Paul Turner, Director Product Marketing, and Jock Breitwieser, Director Public and Analyst Relations at Callidus, the answer was that their on-demand solutions could be considered MORE scalable than their traditional on-premise solution.
How so? Callidus On-Demand solutions use Sun grid computing to extend the hardware as much as required by the clients. This means that an enterprise does not need to maintain their own grid computing facility, nor do they need to purchase expensive servers to anticipate future growth. The service is ‘on-demand’ and so is the hardware.
Security
Another major concern shared by large enterprises is security. Large enterprises rightfully do not want their sensitive data at risk of being exploited.
The Callidus On-Demand solution was architected with security in mind. From secure FTP data staging, to the use of state-of-the-art data centers to host the data, to individual database instances and dedicated hardware to meet specific security requirements, the Callidus On-Demand is a security fortress. Paul and Jock also noted that security has not been a deterrent for many large clients to adopt Callidus On-Demand offerings.
Other Benefits of On-Demand Applications
Lower Cost of Ownership
With an On-Demand solution, after the initial fee to configure the application, the cost is typically determined per payee; there is no need to purchase expensive hardware and software licenses. Not only is the cost lower upfront, but when considering the overall cost associated to an on-premise solution including upgrades, license renewal, maintenance, support, etc, an on-demand solution may be the most economical solution period.
Availability of Resources
With On-demand solutions, the Vendor is responsible for managing the software and the hardware and any related issues. Clients can focus in their business core focus rather than having to deploy and support the application and hardware.
Accessibility
On-demand applications can be accessed from anywhere in the world, at any time, from a web browser. This not only enables compensation consultants and executives to view sales performance data; it also enables individual sales people to login the application and monitor their own performance.
Paul concluded that with all the benefits of On-Demand solutions, it is easy to see why large customers are so interested by these offerings
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