6 Reasons Why Moving to SaaS Is Harder Than You Think

Jan 17, 2013 by Dave Cohn

Over the past few years of working with hundreds of ISVs around the world, I feel I have been privy to inside information from many leading companies and future market challengers. I have learned about the strategies and ambitions of many software vendors; where they are today and where they want to be tomorrow. One variable that tends to be common from vendor to vendor includes defining an end goal of SaaS. The true meaning of SaaS or Software-as-a-Service is as subjective a term as cloud. Ask ten different vendors how they define SaaS and you will most likely receive ten different definitions.

The truth though is SaaS is all or nothing.

To become a nimble, flexible, and competitive SaaS vendor requires major changes in the way your customers consume your application(s). Consumers are becoming more and more inclined to use software as an on-demand offering because the market is pushing them in that direction. Ridding themselves of the costly infrastructure and specialists required to run software is a big driver and on the mind of many decision-makers, including CFO’s. Like it or not, more and more of your customers will and are looking for a SaaS offering. If it is not from you, they will find it elsewhere.

I have been involved in conversations and strategic discussions with some of the top names in software, some of the leading enterprises and some of the future market leaders that you have never heard of yet. I do not consider myself a fortune-teller and have no crystal ball. However, I do have knowledge that I have gathered over the years regarding the transition to SaaS that I feel is valuable to share. While the transition to SaaS is valuable and necessary, the time and resources needed to build in-house is often extremely underestimated. Therefore, I have compiled the Top 6 issues that are often looked over when companies look to build SaaS in-house and broke them into the Infographic below. These 6 issues are only the tip of the iceberg. If you are interested in learning more about transitioning your software business to SaaS, I recommend you check out our whitepaper, “Making the Move to SaaS.”