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Think about it.  Low upfront cost.   Monthly expense.  You are not in control, the stuff belongs to someone else.  You worry about being too dependent on a particular vendor.  You worry about losing things and the consequences to the bottom line.  Over the long term, you realize that it might be more expensive to keep doing this.  Hmm, sounds like leasing.  

Leasing is an option we understand well.  Our companies have used it during a period of change and needed  the flexibility of disposing of hardware easily.  Or, the technology desired was going to change soon and leasing made it possible to stop buying so that when warranties on previously purchased hardware ended, a major technology change could be rolled out.  Purchasing could then begin again. 

Is SaaS going to be “leasing” for software?  It has many of the same advantages except for the flexibility.  You either move an application to an SaaS model or you don’t.  Partial moves make no sense in this context.  An added advantage is reducing the need for technical staff on hand to keep it up and running as the vendor has to do that.  The use of vendor staff might be a good reason to switch to SaaS for smaller organziations.  For larger enterprises, losing the ability to customize, test and integrate with other systems might not make SaaS a winning choice.  

As usual, we shall see.  Predictions of cloud computing taking the SaaS model even further means that we should prepare for managing assets in these types of environments.  If these characteristics are beguiling during our current economic downturn, then more of us will be managing these types of applications on our assets and in our contracts than not.

SIIA has a webcast coming up in September on the viability of SaaS in a recession if you are interested.

With the growth of “professional” versions of open source products, I have been waiting to see how software compliance would be dealt with.  Open source is the opposite ocean, designed for sharing, although everyone has adjusted to versions where the user is expected to pay.  Serdar Yegulalp of Information Week had some interesting remarks this week.  He talked to Movable Type, a company with a professional version as well as an open source version.  When asked about what they will do when they find unlicensed people using the professional version, Movable Type is quoted as saying it would be an opportunity for conversation and not for a law suit. 

Nothing new here, just our same problem arising within a new audience. 

To read more, check out Serdar’s notes from OSCON on Information Week. 

 

Animus Solutions, a provider of IT asset management and service management services has announced Program Review and Executive Briefing to deliver strategic advice at a minimal cost. We also announce the addition of Walter Darrough to the leadership team. As Vice President of Sales and Business Development, Darrough will continue to advocate IT business best practices. In addition, Jenny Schuchert continues to be our Vice President of Marketing and has been promoted to also be our Vice President of Corporate Communications.

The Program Review service focuses on Policy Management, Software Asset Management, Process-to-Automation Match, Hardware Asset Management or Shelfware Evaluation. With the Animus Solutions’ methodology, experienced Animus consultants assess resources, data and systems to deliver practical best practice recommendations.

Our Executive Briefing offers executives an intense knowledge update to empower strategic planning for the business of IT. Both offerings are ideal for organizations seeking guidance with a limited budget.

BIO: Walter, has over twenty-eight years of IT experience focused on the Financial, Retail, Health Care, Energy, Government, Services and Transportation industries. Walter has extensive experience in product development, implementation, data center and back office operations. This experience provides him the necessary background to help companies advance their IT Asset Management and other business practices. Over the past several years, Walter has worked exclusively with organizations seeking to better understand the benefits of advancing their IT Asset Management practices and in developing and implementing effective ITAM strategies. Before joining Animus, Walter held the position of Knowledge Executive and Program Advisor for IAITAM. Walter holds CSAM, CHAMP and CITAM certifications from IAITAM, as well as an ITIL Foundation certificate.

“Rolling out these changes is an important statement for Animus Solutions,” stated Ms. McLachlan. “The mission for this company is to implement practical solutions through experience-rich professionals. With this leadership team, we have experience at all levels as well as a strong customer focus. I am proud to say that our services catalog is the most flexible and diverse set of offerings in our segment of the industry.”

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