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From a business perspective, it doesn’t
really matter what type of computer you use
- only that it delivers the features you
need at a cost-effective price. Your staff
need access to certain programs to fulfil
their roles such as email, a client database
and accounts software. Your network will
require anti-virus software, a backup
solution and a firewall. But it is
unimportant where these applications
actually “live” – only that they are
accessible from wherever the user is.
And so the current model may be changing.
For many years, companies have purchased a
hardware platform, a selection of software
components, commissioned somebody to install
and maintain it and then upgraded everything
to a newer version every 4 to 5 years. But
today, fast and reliable Internet
connectivity is enabling a new approach for
certain applications.
Software as a Service – why buy when you can
rent?
Rather than buy a solution, why not rent it
and pay for how much you use? Many vendors
are now installing their applications on
servers hosted out on the Internet and
equipping them with suitable levels of
resiliency, security and backup. To access
them, all you need is a basic computer and
an Internet connection.
Delta Comtech has been recommending the
MessageLabs anti-malware Email Protect
product for some time now. This application
runs out on the Web away from your systems
using the SaaS model, which means no
installation, no upgrades and no performance
impact on the local system. MessageLabs has
made significant investment in connectivity
and redundancy so the service will be more
reliable than your own Internet connection,
they employ round-the-clock support and
technical expertise focused on their
product, meaning you can essentially
configure the system and forget about it.
Click to evaluate
MessageLabs anti-malware Email Protect
Other examples of SaaS
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Hosted Exchange mailboxes
are another type of SaaS application which has spread
rapidly in recent months. Rather than purchase your own
mail server, this option allows you to securely share a
portion of an online server for a fraction of the cost.
Delta Comtech provides a whole range of hosted exchange
services so please call for more information and
pricing.
We’ve mentioned
online
backups
in previous newsletters although these come with
their own peculiar set of constraints and
considerations.
>>
http://www.delta-comtech.co.uk/news/issue1/backup.htm
The popular
Sage accountancy
product is now available in an online format (though
rather expensive in our opinion).
>>
http://www.online50.net
Google
provides a growing number of free online applications.
Many of these are in Beta and, as the 2-day outage
suffered by some users earlier this year would suggest,
may not be quite ready for a business to rely on as yet.
>>
http://docs.google.com |
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What are the benefits and are there
other considerations?
SaaS applications are usually priced
on a per-user basis. This works well
for small businesses but does not
always scale well for larger
companies. However, it is important
to consider the total cost of
ownership of these solutions. SaaS
products will rarely be the cheapest
in terms of headline cost but once
support and maintenance costs have
been factored in they can become
much more competitive.
Furthermore, hosted applications are
generally accessible from anywhere
via a simple Web connection
which is good news for mobile or
home-based workers and can also
contribute to your disaster recovery
planning by assuring vital business
continuity in the case of fire,
flood or swine flu.
Naturally, this easy accessibility
from anywhere on the Internet does
mean you need to pay appropriate
attention to security issues.
Complex passwords that change with
reasonable frequency are an absolute
minimum.
Businesses also need to consider
their legal obligations regarding
the secure storage of data, the
international transfer of data and
any requirement to retain
information.
Service providers generally backup
the data you hold with them, but you
need to ensure the small print of
their service level agreement gives
your business adequate protection.
It is also a good idea to establish
how you can extract your information
in case you ever need to move to
another provider.
One final thing to note is that
these services rely on an Internet
connection. If you do not have a
stable Internet connection then
these solutions are probably not for
you. But as the availability and
reliability of Internet bandwidth
increases – SaaS is the way many of
your applications will be heading.
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Delta Comtech Ltd
Artillery House, Heapy Street
Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 7JB |
Tel:
0844 4128102
info@delta-comtech.co.uk |
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