SaaS ITSM Solutions See Rapid Growth

    LONDON, ENGLAND, February 16, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- One of the biggest reasons businesses should consider SaaS based Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) solutions is simply because they are cheaper to run, maintain and purchase. Unlike traditional software which is sold conventionally with a user license and a purchasing fee, SaaS applications are usually priced on a subscription basis which can either reoccur at a monthly or yearly basis. However, unlike traditional software the upfront costs of running a SaaS based ITSM solution is lower than that of enterprise software. Often, the price is based on a number of parameters such as the total number of users that are using the application.

The low cost of user provisioning means that vendors are able to offer SaaS based solutions and applications using the well known premium model. So businesses that are interested in SaaS based ITSM solutions can use any of the applications offered by the vendor absolutely free but with limited functionality. This gives businesses a chance to take the application for a brief trial run prior to making a full commitment. Some SaaS applications are 100% free to use with much of the revenue coming from advertising.

According to a recent estimate in 2010 by the Gartner Group, total SaaS sales had reached around GBP6 billion in 2010 and experts were projecting approximately a GBP7 billion growth in 2011, a huge increase from the previous year. By 2015 Gartner Group estimates that SaaS revenue will more than double from its earlier figures in 2010. The largest market though still continues to be customer relationship management for the SaaS industry.

The key to the rapid growth of SaaS based ITSM solutions, such as BMC Remedy onDemand and other BMC ITSM products, is the fact that it enables vendors to price their software competitively. Also the effort made by a business to maintain the infrastructure is also reduced as the provider will take care of jobs such as server patching, updating and maintaining backups. However, the application itself does not differ from what is being offered conventionally by software companies which means that the application management costs for businesses are identical on both sides of the border.

Reasons for Moving to SaaS based ITSM

The majority of businesses will want to migrate to a SaaS based system since it frees up valuable IT resources within a company, plus it helps small and medium sized businesses save on maintenance costs. The freed up resources can then be geared towards managing and driving innovation which helps boost the bottom line of a business significantly both in the short and long term.

The other reason for businesses to migrate to a SaaS based system is Total Cost of Ownership or TCO. The TCO can either be higher or lower for a SaaS based system and really depends on the type of business you have and whether you measure your costs over a period of 3 or 5 years.
Security is yet another reason why businesses will want to opt for SaaS based ITSM solutions. Third parties tend to do a better job at managing security as compared to what small businesses are able to achieve on a limited budget.

Your decision to move to a SaaS based environment will mainly depend on what your business goals are. You should weigh in both options prior to determining if SaaS based ITSM is a better option.

Fusion is a IT Service Management specialist which uses their experienced and well trained staff to help IT organisations improve their service performance, quality and efficiency. Fusion help businesses transform their IT departments using IT Management software such as BMC Atrium CMDB and other BMC Software.

Website: http://www.fusion.co.uk

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