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Perplexity AIIn today’s digital world, most IT environments are hybrid, combining both on-premise and SaaS software. SAM tools are also increasingly deployed as cloud-only solutions, offering more flexibility and ease-of-use to customers. In this article, we’re exploring the key differences between SaaS and on-premise SAM solutions, and why cloud-based SAM tools are a popular choice.
SaaS vs On-Premise SAM
Cloud-based SAM is third-party hosted software, periodically upgraded and managed by the cloud services vendors. Customers can quickly utilize the platform a vendor has built, tested, and implemented. On-premise solutions, however, take time, skilled labor, and money to be deployed, managed, and periodically upgraded. All upgrades and management are usually performed manually by the customer, whether to software or hardware.
Why Companies Prefer SaaS Over On-Prem
SaaS-based SAM solutions are the common choice for customers. Most major vendors have either added a cloud-based product option, and more modern vendors are exclusively cloud-based. In a survey conducted by Comparesoft to shortlist and compare software tools, 90% of the 15,431 asset management software buyers surveyed reported a preference for cloud-based systems. Lower costs, easier upgrades, and better scalability are the top reasons why SaaS outperforms on-prem alternatives. Other benefits are no need for upgrades or security patches, and fast deployment across the board. Greater scalability and flexibility also means SaaS SAM solutions can scale as companies grow. For businesses, SaaS combines simplification, secured access, and affordability.
Advantages of SaaS and Xensam’s Cloud-Based SAM Solution
Lower Entry Cost — The Xensam SaaS solution offers a much lower entry cost than an on-premise solution. SaaS solutions come at a fraction of the cost needed to procure, deploy, and manage an on-premise solution. Xensam offers its PAYG (Pay As You Go) model. You pay only for what you use. SaaS is also used in many situations, say, as a Proof-of-Technology (PoT) tool, to ensure and prove that the given solution will, in fact, benefit an organization if purchased.
Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) — The Xensam solution is reasonably free of maintenance. Rarely are there deployment issues, there are no hefty maintenance costs. Costs are reduced by eliminating the need to meet infrastructure requirements and purchasing software licences (SQL, Windows Server, and JAVA, say). SaaS reduces both capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX), thereby boosting an organization’s overall savings.
Faster Time to Market (TTM) — The Xensam solution provides a solution that has already been provisioned, implemented, and tested. The only thing to do before a solution is implemented in an organization is configuration and set-up, meaning a much lower deployment time and complexity. That means organizations can get started quickly without the need for a large investment upfront in time or technical expertise. Faster time-to-market enables quicker ROI.
Flexible Pricing — Xensam offers PAYG, or Pay As You Go. As your organizational needs grow and evolve, you can easily scale up or down accordingly, with a monthly invoice. This means that you are never bound by long contract lock-ins.
Lower Risk — SaaS vendors takes care of infrastructural risks and ensure high availability for their customers organizational needs. Implementations are faster and involve fewer risks as they are handled by platform experts. Xensam’s solution is maintained by a team of in-house developers and expert Support Technicians.
Security Assurances — Because SaaS solutions are third-party hosted, vendors put in significant effort to maintain high security standards for their users. SaaS vendors offer automated back-up services to ensure your data is always safe. Major investments must be made for an on-premise solution to match the security and reliability of a SaaS solution. Xensam works to maintain the highest standards of data privacy and security.
Automatic Upgrades — SaaS providers automatically and continuously upgrade their solutions at no extra cost. The cost and effort associated with upgrades and new releases are thus much lower than the traditional model that usually requires the user to buy an upgrade package and install it, or pay for specialized services to upgrade the infrastructure.
Advantages of On-Premise Solutions
Total Control: Contrary to a SaaS model, an on-premise solution offers you total control over your software and hardware. All sensitive data are internally stored, completely negating the risks of exposing such data to third-party vendors, unless IT services are already sourced to a third party.
Full Ownership: Since an organization must purchase the infrastructure and resources for an on-premise solution, it offers a higher sense of ownership.
More Customization: Often, an on-premise solution enables more options for your ad hoc customizations that are outside the scope of a cloud service providers’ APIs. For example, it might be possible to create new screens, workflows, and data objects beyond that initially provided by your on-premise vendor.
Disadvantages of an On-Premise Solution
Costly — On-premise solutions are usually more expensive, and require long contract commitments and higher upfront costs to own the tool.
More Maintenance — An organization owns their on-premise software and must also maintain, upgrade, and scale the solutions when needed. This is often not a time-consuming task that requires significant expertise.
High Resource Demand – On-prem solutions require more resources maintaining both backend and frontend solutions, meaning you need resources with both backend and frontend knowledge and also infrastructure to support this. Skilled people are required to keep the lights on.
Quick Time to Value with Xensam’s Cloud-Based SAM Platform
With SaaS the implementation and configuration are simpler and faster. The average time for implementing Xensam’s solution is less than 14 days. You don’t need a certification or special knowledge to achieve software and hardware configuration, and there’s no need for a consultant/partner to support the implementation and configuration. Xensam lowers the threshold to getting started with SAM. Xensam’s lightweight agent is the most intelligent agent in the market, and with a pre-built MSI, making installation quick and easy. All that needs to be done is:
- Install the agent as an administrator.
- Ensure the agent can speak to Xource via HTTP (port 443).
- Whitelist the agent from your antivirus.
When complete, you get instant access to software data from across your IT environment and can begin optimizing it.
Conclusion
Cloud-based SAM solutions offer a host of advantages to modern companies. When you purchase an on-premise SAM tool, you buy a product and own the responsibility of its configuration, implementation, maintenance, and lifelong support. SaaS is agile, quick, and maintenance free. The overall cost and resource demand are lower and the ROI is higher. SAM and software are continuously changing, meaning that SAM tools continuously needs upgrades. Cloud-based SAM is a superior choice for companies who want advanced control of their IT environments. Xensam’s AI-powered, cloud-based SAM tool is a solution and service, not just a tool. The ease of deployment, use, and fast time to value give companies time back. Instead of spending it on maintaining the tool, they can focus on optimizing their IT environment with the data derived from their platform.