Published February 9th, 2011 by Rob Bell

As a veteran (26 years) of software development and quality assurance, I am a huge proponent of Software as a Service (SaaS). It is a win-win for vendors and customers. Mainly because vendors always want customers running on their latest versions software (best quality, most features) and although customers want the same thing, they don’t want the pain of upgrades. Upgrades for great SaaS vendors become a feature of the software, leading to simpler and much less risky upgrade events and they have to because they are performed on the vendor’s dollar. It’s that simple! Here are some key points to keep in mind:

• You only get full value from your software investment if upgrades are applied continuously.
• All software has bugs… continuous upgrades help you avoid them by having access to the most corrective content.
• With SaaS, you never have to wait for your IT staff to upgrade.
• All great SaaS companies include upgrades as part of your normal fee and no hidden charges.

Have you ever ‘shot’ a software product because it just couldn’t deliver? Was it the most recent version of the product? Not likely. With on-premises software upgrades constantly being delayed for internal budgetary reasons, they simply never happen, leading to outdated ‘legacy’ software in production. And very often, it just doesn’t compare well to the latest versions of competitive products. But does it make sense to start over from scratch?

One of the biggest breakthroughs with SaaS is that upgrades are expected to be part of the service. This gives the vendor the opportunity to keep the very best software always at your disposal. And since you are renewing your subscription on a frequent basis, there’s plenty of opportunity to gently remind them of any concerns or issues you may have with their service.

Have you ever called your vendor for help on a critical bug only to be told that it’s already fixed in the next version? With continuous upgrades, you’re always running the best code available and you’ll most likely never hit that bug in the first place. That is real value.