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The key questions to ask when choosing a Software as a Sevice (SaaS) model are:

• Who owns the data?
• What are the levels of support?
• How do users access the software application?
• How are service issues resolved?
• How are questions and/or problems concerning the software resolved, and what happens next?
• Is training provided?
• How secure is the data?
• What are your internal security policies in respect of allowing SaaS employees to have passwords and access to reports?
• What are the security safeguards against external attack, and do you provide backups to handle hardware failures?
• How secure is the connection between the infrastructure and the user? Is it secured by encryption, a VPN, proprietary techniques or some other system?
• How is the application served, is the data on a dedicated machine or a shared machine?
• How does the SaaS provider handle redundancy? What levels of redundancy are in place to keep your servers online?
• How does the SaaS provider handle hardware/software problems?
• How does the SaaS provider handle a disaster such as fire or flood?
• How would the SaaS provider handle the complete loss of the facility?
• How long would it be before they restored service?
• How can you get the data out if you choose to select a new SaaS provider?

The key advantages of using the SaaS (Software as a Service) model are that:

• It provides a low cost of entry to build a business case and gain executive-level buy-in.
• It allows the business to build a Project Portfolio Management (PPM) process and embed competency without being bogged down in protracted software installation cycles.
• It allows the business to work around IT resource and budget constraints.
• The vendor’s application can be tested in a proof-of-concept or pilot.
• The SaaS provider owns, operates and maintains the software application.
• The SaaS provider owns, operates and maintains the servers that run the application.
• The SaaS provider employs the people needed to maintain the application.

The SaaS (Software as a Services) model levers the developments in Web 2.0 to deliver the same features and functions as desktop programmes, including rich user interfaces and fast feedback via a web-only infrastructure. The current jostling and market competition between the software giants Google and Microsoft is very typical of developments within the SaaS space. Both Google and Microsoft are pioneering the latest developments (Google Office and Microsoft Office Live) to migrate into online, web based environments with the next generation of more dynamic, businessresponsive applications. Compared with the desktop environment, the SaaS model provides many compelling benefits, the most significant being the ability to have truly ‘stateless’ computing. In other words, wherever the user goes their data goes with them. This means there is no need to synchronise data, and the application runs on practically any computer, as long as the operating system supports a standard web browser.

According to IT analysts Gartner, SaaS applications present a costeffective alternative to in-house software licensing options – especially for small to medium sized enterprises. SaaS allows small companies to get ‘good enough’ enterprise application functionality such as a PPM tool, in a model that works for them, leaving the IT skills and capital investment burdens to the service provider.

SaaS offerings allow an organisation to spend more of its software investment money in critical areas, such as services, process definition, and support, as opposed to spending the bulk of the investment money merely on implementing technology. SaaS allows an organisation to focus on automating proven processes in shorter periods of time (compared to in-house deployments), without committing to a longterm (multi-year, multi-phased implementation) relationship with one vendor.

SaaS as a network of web based business services is now becoming widely used within the Project Portfolio Management (PPM) market as a quick, low cost, low risk method of deploying software across the enterprise. In its simplest form SaaS manages and distributes services and solutions to customers across a secure internet connection or a private network from a remote, central data centre. The core feature of SaaS is that users do not need to purchase, install and maintain the software themselves; instead they rent the applications they need from their SaaS provider as part of consultation driven Project Portfolio Management initiative. SaaS providers offer companies services that would otherwise have to be provided in-house, or on site. The need for SaaS has evolved from the increasing costs of specialised software, which have far exceeded the price range of small to medium sized businesses. Also, the growing complexities of software have led to huge costs in distributing the software to end users. In essence, through SaaS, the complexities and costs of such software can be cut down.