Integration Appliances: Simplify Software as a Service (SaaS) Integration

Integration Appliances: Simplify Software as a Service (SaaS) Integration
Integration Appliances: Simplify
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Integration
By Simon Peel January 2007
Introduction
More companies are adopting Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, fuelled by a fiercely competitive business environment. As the pace of business and technology accelerates, companies need to adapt faster to change and their IT departments must deliver innovative technology solutions rapidly and at a lower cost.
SaaS applications-like salesforce.com, NetSuite, RightNow and Siebel CRM On Demand-are attractive because they meet these needs. They appeal to IT because of the lower number of resources needed for deployment and to business users because they're able to start using the new systems quickly. And everybody likes subscription pricing because it means fewer budgetary issues get in the way of procuring the new application. It's no surprise then that SaaS applications, also known as on-demand applications, are spreading rapidly within companies today. The Yankee Group forecasts that 50 percent of software purchased by small to midsize companies in 2008 will be delivered as an on-demand service and this market will reach $10 billion annually.
Deploying SaaS applications comes with a major challenge, however. Many IT departments become frustrated soon after they start using a SaaS application because the critical business information they need is not accessible from the new system. This information exists in highly customized back-end systems. Getting the new SaaS application to access and update these back-end systems becomes a far bigger hurdle than anybody anticipated.
The fact is, application integration has become the Achilles heel in getting the most from SaaS solutions. This paper highlights the integration issues specific to SaaS and explores three integration approaches to solving these problems.
Growth of SaaS Applications
Moving to a SaaS solution minimizes the pain of "owned and operated" applications. The complexities, time and costs associated with implementing on-premise applications-like SAP, PeopleSoft, and others-are well known. Most mid-size companies would prefer simpler, faster and lower-cost solutions. SaaS applications address these needs and provide attractive advantages for IT departments and business users:
Rapid implementations. Since there is no software to install or deploy with a SaaS application, there is less demand on IT resources and this enables faster implementations. Adding users to the application is as simple as assigning a user ID and password for each person, so they can be up and running quickly.
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Ease-of-use. By delivering comprehensive functionality within a simple, familiar browser-based interface, SaaS applications are intuitive for users and require minimal training.
Low IT impact. SaaS applications are less of a burden for IT but still deliver high business impact. SaaS doesn't require new IT infrastructure to get started and ongoing management and maintenance requires fewer IT resources than with "owned and operated" systems.
Subscription pricing. SaaS has a much lower upfront cost because companies subscribe to an application by paying a monthly fee based on the number of users. This also makes the SaaS solution very easy to scale as a company grows.
Easy to change. Customizations, workflows and preferences in SaaS applications are performed through configuration, not coding. Changes are easy as well because the application just needs to be reconfigured whenever business needs or processes change.
Despite these attractive benefits, SaaS applications will deliver limited value if the associated integration issues are not considered and resolved upfront. Getting the new SaaS application running is so easy that users expect instant access to all of their business information-about customers, products, orders, and more. If this doesn't happen, they get frustrated. Although SaaS applications are simple, their integration with other systems in a company is critical to realizing the value they offer.
Integration: The Last Barrier to SaaS
At mid-size companies, SaaS applic... [download for more]