| When is SaaS more than SaaS? |
|
|
|
| Written by Scott Koegler | |
| Friday, 15 August 2008 | |
|
For the last few years, the progression of moving software and data outside the firewall has steadily increased. It's a trend I personally thought was a non-starter when I first heard the concept touted about five years ago. Was I right? Five years later, it looks as if I was correct about part of my assumptions, but entirely wrong about some others. I'm not unhappy about the part I was wrong about. In fact, as I look at the current landscape, I'm even more convinced that I was correct in my original premise. And that was that enterprises want, and need their core data on-permise... or at least within their corporate control. Specifically, I mean that applications like Enterpries Resource Planning (ERP), Warehouse Managent Systems (WMS), and others that must be available, auditable, and accountable. Exceptions to these are Contact Management Systems, logistical systems, and (increasingly) EDI services. The obvious problem with this complex mixture of critical applications is the same as it has been since the first time two applications touched on the same business function; integration. And that's where SaaS takes on new meaning. Last week I participated in a webinar that talked about this very topic. The two companies involved in the webinar (Cast Iron Systems and SPS Commerce) have come up with an elegant solution to the application integration problem. Cast Iron Systems has developed an appliance that is preconfigured with connections that move data between SPS Commerce's SaaS based EDI services, and in-house applications. My impression is that this is a plug and play installation, if you're using the pre-configured applications. You can listen to the presentation, and see the slides here. I would be interested in hearing what your impression of this, and any similar services, might be. |