COPYRIGHT 2012 PET GROUP OF COMPANIES

COMPARISON BETWEEN SaaS (SOFTWARE-AS-A-SERVICE) AND OFF-THE-SHELF SYSTEM

SOFTWARE-AS-A-SERVICE (SaaS) OFF-THE-SHELF SYSTEM / SELF-HOSTED
PROS
1. Zero Infrastructure
2. Zero IT costs hardware, software, people and
management. IT budget consistent.
a. Hosting fees
b. Bandwidth limitations
c. Initial hardware costs
d. Periodic hardware replacement
e. License for Windows/Linux
f. Installation time
g. Utility costs
3. Reduced acquisition costs / Lower initial costs
no initial high licensing fees
4. No additional maintenance for IT Department
5. Long Term Customer Relationship Profitability
is low or zero in the first year. Focus is on long
term profitability; hence happy customers.
Traditional software vendors (off-the-shelf) will
make the profit from initial license sales focus
less on the longer term relationship.
6. Simplified deployment
7. Backup and data recovery performed
automatically
8. Better and stronger security separate data
centres, daily testing by professional security
companies
9. Painless upgrades all handled by service
provider
10. Scalable no need to add new hardware,
software, bandwidth as user base grows
11. Continuous upgrades / always up-to-date
12. Latest Innovations Benefit from features
requested by other customers/clients

CONS
1. Less control over security and reliability
important to choose a reliable and dependable
provider/partner
(PET: We perform daily backups across 4 data
centres in Malaysia, Singapore and US. We do
daily McAfee HackerSafe testing for security
breaches, loopholes, patches, firewall security,
etc Physically, our DCs are secured 24/7 with
security guards, CCTV, controlled physical
access, shared with MNCs like Amazon and
Yahoo!)
2. Privacy concerns
(PET: We do not share our data with any
entity/entities, unless required to do so by law
enforcement officers. Singapore has strong Data
Privacy laws and regulations)
3. Customization may be more difficult
depending on how flexible provider/partner is
(PET: We provide flexible customization where
necessary to meet our clients needs)
PROS
1. Full control and responsible over system,
security and reliability
2. Complete data ownership
3. Higher chance of customization off-the-
shelf system vendors are keen to make
money from one-off purchases +
customization
4. Fixed IT costs (perceived?) most
companies just count the one-time
costs of purchase + annual subscription
license.
(Note: Costs of future upgrades could be
high, must factor in hardware
replacement costs, running costs for
hosting and bandwidth, initial server
outlay costs, time costs, etc)

CONS
1. High initial acquisition costs
2. Infrastructure required
a. Hosting fees
b. Bandwidth limitations
c. Initial hardware/server costs
d. License of Windows/Linux
e. Installation time
f. Utility costs
3. IT costs/budget must cater for system
and plan for future
upgrades/replacements
4. Risk of Staff Turnover Dependable on
internal staff to support the system
risks of employee
supporting/administering the system and
server leaving/sick/unavailable
5. Self-handled deployment. IT manpower
resources required
6. Self-handled backup and data recovery
7. Self-handled security
8. No upgrades. If upgradeable through
annual maintenance contract must be
performed by customer
9. Additional hardware and bandwidth
required for additional user base
10. Vendor has little/no incentive for long-
term relationship. Profit is made up-
front.