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WHY SOFTWARE
AS A SERVICE?
More and more suppliers offer their software as a
service in the cloud. But why do they do this? And
what are the big advantages for users? We asked two
service management software experts their opinions
on Software as a Service.
Over the last few years, software suppliers have all been switching from the traditional
perpetual licence model to the Software as a Service (SaaS) subscription. With SaaS,
customers pay for software via a subscription according to use instead of making a
one-off purchase. Instead of installing the software on the organizations servers,
it will now be in the suppliers cloud. Organizations can then access it through the
internet. There is a worldwide proliferation of suppliers with this business model.
These are new suppliers who only offer software in the cloud, like Google and
Salesforce.com, and suppliers who already offered software packages. Ramon van
Leeuwen and Ludo Bergkamp have, as TOPdesks Sales manager and Sales team leader,
supported a myriad of organizations in the field of service management. What is their
vision on this trend?
Ludo Bergkamp
Where does this growth of subscriptions come from?
Ludo Bergkamp is Sales team leader and has
Organizations want their software costs evenly distributed, manageable and insightful.
Perpetual licences do not meet these requirements: large one-off costs, long-term
maintenance contracts, all followed by upgrade costs of which the amount and
payment date are unclear. A subscription removes all these uncertainties with a
monthly fee.
RvL: A licence also makes your bookkeeping less flexible. Just imagine if you are forced
to cut back, while you just invested in a new tool six months ago. Of course you wont
LudoBergkamp
@LudoBergkamp
get part of your money back. But if you pay per user, it is easy to align your costs with
your new occupancy.
in two years?
work with.
opportunity arises.
months or more.
software update.
in culture?
change in attitude.
software versions.