While SaaS has Many Powerful Benefits, it is not perfect.  Despite the fact that the Software as a Service business model is growing in popularity, this doesn’t mean that it is perfect. Many proponents of this technology spend too much time promoting its benefits, without taking the time to look at some of the more negative aspects of the technology.

As a business owner or individual, your goal should be to use a tool which can make you highly efficient. Being aware of both the advantages and disadvantages of SaaS will better prepare you for using this tool, and it will allow you to make better decisions than your competitors, who are often sold the technology based purely on its benefits.

The biggest problem with any new technology is that it is subject to a great deal of hype. It should be the responsibility of the end user to cut past the hype and focus on the genuine article, because this is the only thing that truly matters in the long term.

Having said that, it is important to become familiar with the many myths that have come to surround SaaS. Remeber, in the world of business, assumptions can become very expensive. It is best never to assume anything. One issue that must be brought to life is the issue of cost for SaaS versus traditional software.

Many proponents of SaaS claim that this business model is cheaper than traditional software licensing.  They are correct but only for a period of time. Statistics done on this subject show that those who use SaaS "will" save more in the first two years of its implementation than they would save with traditional software models. But over the long term, SaaS will actually cost more than the traditional software model.

Another myth that is commonly associated with SaaS is the belief that it is just as expensive as the utility model. Statistics have shown that this statement is false in most cases. Many SaaS providers promote themselves as being providers who are utility based, and this comes from the belief that the customer will only pay for whatever they actually use, which again is not correct.

Additional SaaS Myths

Another area where many misconceptions exist regarding SaaS involves the speed of implementation. Most people assume that SaaS is much faster than the traditional on-premise software. But is this actually true? In some instances, the SaaS providers will state that the implementation will take approximately one month, while the reality is that the deployment could take as long as seven months.

As you can imagine, there is a big difference between these two time spans, and they will decrease dependent on the complexity involved with the SaaS implementation. Another myth involves the integration of SaaS along with data sources or applications which are on the premises.

One reason why this assumption is not correct is simply because there are two ways in which SaaS can be implemented. The first involves integration which occurs in real time, and integration which is dependent on the Internet. The other involves the synchronization of batches.

At the same time, the individuals who are interested in the integration of this type of model may utilize a method which is based on it. This third process that I’m referencing involves a trigger which is web based that is connected to events which appear inside the SaaS service. Integration which occurs at the level of the UI may also be possible, and is dependent heavily on mash ups.

The Compatibility Myth

There are also assumptions regarding SaaS which are made when it comes to the different requirement configurations. It has been demonstrated that SaaS is not designed specifically for requirements which are simple, but this is what many people believe. SaaS showcases a high level of adaptability when it comes to configurations which are highly diverse.