Software as a service, in many cases, makes a lot of sense. Any asset that you buy has a large up-front charge (whether it be real estate, commercial software, etc). Even if you are making your first business forray into OSS, there is an upfront cost of training, customization, etc. In any case where you would rent something, software as a service is a good analog, especially since there is essentially no secondary market for software- unlike being able to see a used car.
From an accounting standpoint, operational costs are handled differently than capitol expenses, and have different tax implications. From an IT standpoint, there are typically fewer resources required (if any) with software as a service. On the other hand, rich client applications typically still have better integration and reporting tools. Point being, there are many tradeoffs, and every business should check to see which fits best.
You might want to check out salesforce.com Sales force automation is a mission critical app, and salesforce.com is doing very well with the hosting model.
Slashdot Mirror
Software as a service, in many cases, makes a lot of sense. Any asset that you buy has a large up-front charge (whether it be real estate, commercial software, etc). Even if you are making your first business forray into OSS, there is an upfront cost of training, customization, etc. In any case where you would rent something, software as a service is a good analog, especially since there is essentially no secondary market for software- unlike being able to see a used car.
From an accounting standpoint, operational costs are handled differently than capitol expenses, and have different tax implications. From an IT standpoint, there are typically fewer resources required (if any) with software as a service. On the other hand, rich client applications typically still have better integration and reporting tools. Point being, there are many tradeoffs, and every business should check to see which fits best.
You might want to check out salesforce.com Sales force automation is a mission critical app, and salesforce.com is doing very well with the hosting model.
There are 2 games for Macs now? Where is the other one?