Moving To SaaS

MOVING TO SAAS

Best practices and pitfalls

Agenda

• The move to SaaS• Pitfalls and opportunities• 10 awkward questions• Why things bite back

This man is better atThis man is better atyour job than you are.your job than you are.

Others have resisted change.

A history lesson.

1890: Factories near rivers.

1890: Factories near rivers.

1900: Electrical generators.

In just ten years…

1910: Electricity as a utility.

1920: All about the appliances.

“I’m in oven technology.”

Today’s electricity

• Relatively few options– 110V or 220V– AC/DC– Portable or wired

• Ubiquitous, taken for granted

Everything old is new again.

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2010:Utility

computing.

Yes, this isgoing to happenfaster than you expect.

Why Amazon is better than Why Amazon is better than you.you.

(Werner Vogels at NGN’07)(Werner Vogels at NGN’07)

Buy 10,000 computers at a time.

Spread loadaround the world, throughout the day,across the year.

Get HA and DR for free.

Obsessed with making

IT productive.

Consumption-basedcost tracking built in.

Developers devoted toDevelopers devoted tobuilding dynamicbuilding dynamic

capacity management tools.capacity management tools.

GOOG even builds its own switches!

(Oh, and Google’shosted services are free.)

Seriously.

“I’ve got one word for you, boy.Just one word.”

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Appliances.

The applianceThe applianceof computingof computing

is SaaS.is SaaS.

The evolution of computing(with apologies to Forrester)

ISP 1.0Access to the

Internet

ISP 1.0Access to the

Internet

CloudYour apps on their dynamic infrastructure

CloudYour apps on their dynamic infrastructure

SaaSYour users on their Internet

app

SaaSYour users on their Internet

app

BPaaSYour process

in their language

BPaaSYour process

in their language

ISP 2.0Access to a

server on the Internet

ISP 2.0Access to a

server on the Internet

ColoYour servers in their cages

ColoYour servers in their cages

ASPYour data on their apps on their servers

ASPYour data on their apps on their servers

A spectrum of control

CloudYour apps on their dynamic infrastructure

CloudYour apps on their dynamic infrastructure

SaaSYour users on their Internet

app

SaaSYour users on their Internet

app

BPaaSYour process

in their language

BPaaSYour process

in their language

Maximum control:The machine isyour playgroundDo whatever

Minimum control:Your data

in their formsUse their dropdowns

Medium control:Your business logicon their platforms

Use their coding language

Consider Salesforce’s APEX platform

Focusing on SaaS

• What’s different?• Why do we switch?• What stops us?• What best practices are there?

SaaSYour users on their Internet

app

SaaSYour users on their Internet

app

So why do we So why do we switch?switch?

Much better operational effectiveness

• SaaS fixes this– Deliver application capacity as needed– Ensure efficient use of assets

Deliver apps & services quickly

Deliver apps & services quickly

Efficient, cost-effective

Efficient, cost-effective

Lower total cost of ownership• On-demand TCO

less than half that of physical operations (Yankee)

• Companies use just 16% of the software they buy (2005 IDC survey)

They already passed the audit• Vertically-focused SaaS amortizes

legal compliance across customers–HIPPA– OSHA

We can’t do what they can• Native advantages– Google Forms vs. Excel

They benefit from network effects• Development community,

extensibility, partners

We can sharpen strategic focus• Outsource what’s not

core• IT isn’t strategic–Productivity is

What you don’t need to worry about• Defining the infrastructure• Scaling• Consumption billing• Resiliency• Contractual obligations• Installation

Already done!Already done!

Virtual & dynamicVirtual & dynamic

Built inBuilt in

On their way outOn their way out

Already thereAlready there

Byproduct of clusteringByproduct of clustering

Pricing pitfall

• People claim it’s too expensive after all.

• Make sure finance is involved early– Accounted for differently

• Beware the myth of amortization– Know the true costs of server ownership– Include all the costs

• Helpdesk, DR, storage, upgrades, staffing, etc.

Customization pitfall

• Everyone needs “just this one little change.”

• You won’t spend a lot of time stacking machines– But you will be showing business users how to

customize the app– Expect lots of trial-and-error tweaking

• Try to define business needs up front• Identify a champion within each business

unit– Otherwise, they’ll find a reason to claim the new

app doesn’t meet their needs

http://www.customware.net/repository/download/attachments/6389868/create-s-control.png

Visibility pitfall

• You can’t see anything about your users.

• Demand reports from your provider

• Consider how to analyze productivity, bad behavior

Helpdesk pitfall• Escalation and support

paths unclear.• Define who handles what

problems– Decide how to tell who’s to

blame– How do you know if it’s you

or them?• Ensure you have named

contacts at the provider• Set response targets and

escalation paths– How fast can you get them

to escalate it?

Traffic & usage pitfall

• The new application significantly changes load on the network, undermining other systems.

• Model the network with outbound traffic

• Expect firewall changes• Consider time-of-day

usage changes• Upgrade bandwidth early

Mobility pitfall

• With widely available web UI, everyone expects it to work anywhere on any device.

• Know what devices you support• Decide how to log access• Someone will use an iPhone

Legislation pitfall• Your intellectual

property isn’t yours any more.

• You will use APIs– Make sure what you

build is your property– Consider GPL3

• Security audits will happen– Make sure you’re

allowed to conduct them

– Is the provider compelled to help?

– Do you need code inspection?

Performance/availability pitfall• The application is slow, or not reliable.• Agree on performance and availability

SLAs– For whom?– What function?– From where?– From what component?– Will have what performance?– And what availability?– In what timeframe?

• Clearly state your recourses– “Using the $100/mo. subscription.”

“Bank tellers will be able to log in from North American branches with a host latency of under 3 seconds, and will have 99.95% availability during business hours”

“Bank tellers will be able to log in from North American branches with a host latency of under 3 seconds, and will have 99.95% availability during business hours”

Accounts and SSO pitfall

• Activation & termination.

• Complexity increases with multiple providers

• Ensure there’s a roadmap for SSO

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelogon/2122303827/

Data I/O pitfall

• If you can’t get your data, you can’t migrate.– Lose important

bargaining chip• Grab all data– All records– All relations– All metadata– In a standardized

format– Several times a year

Firehose pitfall

• Your users are overwhelmed and panic.

• Decide what extensions are most popular

• Roll them out over time to your organization– Reminds them why you went SaaS

Outsourcing pitfall

• Failure to commit to the change in focus leaves you supporting half a process.

• Once part of a process is gone, how much can you shed?– Physical I/O (mailing, shipping)– Third-party systems (payment, banking, order

entry)– Telephony and messaging (VOIP, dialing)– Get executive and financial sponsorship for this!

Upgrade pitfall

• When the SaaS upgrades, you’re dragged along.

• Get good warning about upgrades• Ensure training is part of support

agreement• If possible, upgrade when you want

to

Extensibility pitfall

• The app isn’t quite right after all.

• Make sure you can extend it– With your own code and

their APIs– In their development

environment• Can you attach new

fields to every data structure?

• Can you develop to web services?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/markklotz/2370944091/

Cultural pitfall #1

• Organization doesn’t embrace the new app.

• IT is the biggest holdout– Built on a “plan, procure, provision” mindset–Who cares about this process?

• Facilities, storage, monitoring, capacity planning, finance, networking

• Move it or lose it• Show IT how it retains employment,

usefulness by embracing SaaS as a new platform

Cultural pitfall #2

• Executives get post-purchase regret.

• Beware the HIPPO problem–HIghest Paid

Person’s Opinion

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertmiller/343459218/

Cultural pitfall #3

• You’re already reliant on SaaS without knowing it.

• Developers already doing it–No longer ask for a server– Consider Quickbase

• Line of Business went around you

• Bring it back into the fold without looking defensive

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sfildes/1804911191/

Chris:

• You’ve got a process you didn’t know about

• Match your business operation to the SaaS provider through trial and error

• Find out where the “hidden process” that people use is lurking

Ten nasty questions to ask.Ten nasty questions to ask.

(Or, how to get a better price (Or, how to get a better price from your SaaS provider.)from your SaaS provider.)

Can I get all my data from Can I get all my data from you?you?

Is the code I writeIs the code I writeto customize it portable?to customize it portable?

Can you tell meCan you tell mewhere my servers are?where my servers are?

Is the app legally usable Is the app legally usable from anywhere in the from anywhere in the

world?world?

What kinds of SLA and What kinds of SLA and availability reports do you availability reports do you

have?have?

How do I dispute my bill,How do I dispute my bill,and what proof do you and what proof do you

have?have?

What privacy guaranteesWhat privacy guaranteesdo you have in place?do you have in place?

What APIs do you offer,What APIs do you offer,how are they supported,how are they supported,and where are the docs?and where are the docs?

Can I keep usersCan I keep userson an older version while Ion an older version while Itrain them on the new one?train them on the new one?

Can I back up and restore Can I back up and restore configurations?configurations?

Why thingsbite back.Unforeseen consequences and the cautionary tale of the iron.

What might bite back?What might bite back?

Infrastructure transparency.Infrastructure transparency.

We need to see where data lives We need to see where data lives after all.after all.

Portability and dependency.Portability and dependency.

A whole new kind of vendor A whole new kind of vendor lock-in.lock-in.

Portfolio management tools.Portfolio management tools.

Too many SaaS tools to deal Too many SaaS tools to deal with.with.

{Pics of Bitcurrent’s?}{Pics of Bitcurrent’s?}

Rogue applications.Rogue applications.

When it’s costless to turn When it’s costless to turn something up, everyone will.something up, everyone will.

SaaS SaaS becomesbecomes the the middleman.middleman.

If buyer and seller use the If buyer and seller use the same SaaS, does it become a same SaaS, does it become a

marketplace?marketplace?

Social networking.Social networking.

Shared apps have shared Shared apps have shared users.users.

Security.Security.

Much easier to do bad things Much easier to do bad things when an account is when an account is

compromised.compromised.

Competitive advantage.Competitive advantage.

Don’t SaaS what makes you Don’t SaaS what makes you special.special.

{Fedex}{Fedex}

QUESTIONS?

Thank You.