Once an organization makes the decision to implement IT, the next thing they will need to do is make the preparation for the transition, and the best way for them to do this is through the assessment of how the deployment will effect their assets which are IT based. Once they understand this, they will need to take the time in order to make sure that the transition is handled in the proper manner.

The very first issue that must be considered are the implications for IT governance. Carrying out the proper research is a critical component of any proper plan for IT deployment. Most companies should already be familiar with the most basic details, but there are other areas which must carefully be considered.

Standards must be established for the security of data. When you are in the process of transporting critical enterprise data beyond the walls of your organization, this data will be exposed to a great deal of risk. There is a risk that data could be lost, and there is also the more dangerous risk of data being compromised.

When organizations decide to switch over to SaaS, they will need to take the time to assess the security needs of their data, and they will need to make sure that the provider has taken the necessary measures to make sure the proper standards are met. A secondary issue that must be considered are the guarantees for SLA.

The contract that exits among an organization and the SaaS vendor will generally take the form of SLAs, or service level agreements. These agreements will be responsible for ensuring the amount of availability and performance that will be offered by the vendor, as well as the security.

The agreement will also be responsible for controlling the behavior of the vendor, and most importantly, the compensation that it will give to the company in the event that it doesn’t properly meet these guidelines.

It is critical to make sure that the SLAs are put in place, and they should offer your organization guarantees which are necessary for meeting your needs. They should also provide a large amount of mitigation in the event that a dispute occurs.

Additional IT Issues to Consider

Any company that is thinking of switching to SaaS will need to establish a migration strategy, that is, a game plan which will allow them to move from the SaaS tool to a different solution. It is critical that organizations are able to take the data which they already have out of the current applications they are using and transport it to a newer or better application.

When dealing with potential SaaS providers, you will want to find out more about the data migration strategies they have, along with the procedures they utilize, and you will also want to make sure provisions for data are included. One thing that I should also mention is that requirements for integration should always be made in-house.

You will want to make sure that the company’s migration to SaaS will properly meet the functional requirements which are necessary for the organization, as this is critically important. Another crucial issue that must be considered are reporting services. Since switching to SaaS will require organizations to give up the total control of a portion of their data, having reporting which is accurate and efficient can go a long way towards making sure your organization gets what it needs.

Reporting services is an issue which should never be taken lightly. Organizations will need to decide which type of reporting can provide the offers, and whether these are useful for the business intelligence. All organizations should consider the role IT plays for them prior to this migration.

IT Impact

Placing the SaaS within the IT for the enterprise may lead to a dramatic shift when it comes to the IT department’s function as the giver of IT services. The business units may be reluctant to change, but the IT departments must never be immune to the politics that exist within the organization, and it is important to keep in mind that reluctance to switch to SaaS can come from other parts of the organization in addition to the IT department. Organizations must make everyone aware of the reason for the change, and how it benefits them.