2. Note down exactly what you need in order to help you achieve the reason why you are implementing SaaS in the first place

This directly follows on from the first consideration. Once a business knows why they are implementing SaaS, they can then go about finding exactly what they need in order to accomplish this. There are a number of questions that a business should be able to answer, which will help them find out exactly what they need in order to accomplish what they initially set out to achieve. Firstly a business should be able to answer exactly what their SaaS software services need to be able to do. Secondly, a business should be able to answer exactly what kind of features these software services will need to have, in order to meet the answer to their previous question.

For example if a business wanted to improve data collaboration between various different business sites, then they would want a SaaS software solution that could be accessed by many users. However, if a business wanted a highly efficient software solution, similar in performance to traditional on-premises software solutions, then they would probably want a SaaS software service that could only be accessed by a few users at a time (making it more efficient than software solutions which are offered by many different users at the same time).

No matter what a business requires, by answering the two questions which were detailed in the first paragraph, things should be made a lot clearer for them. This means that a business should now have the knowledge to choose a SaaS service that is suitable for them.

3. Request a Service Level Agreement before signing any contracts

The Service Level Agreement is an important agreement document because it clearly defines what a SaaS service provider is offering and also what consequences they will face if they fail to deliver these services, to the agreed standard. To avoid problems at a later time and to ensure that they are getting exactly what they paid for, a business should request a Service Level Agreement before actually signing any contracts. Only when a business is happy with the terms in their Service Level Agreement, should they continue with the implementation process of SaaS.

4. Make sure that agreement clauses meet your needs and not just the software vendors needs

Because of the fact that SaaS software vendors can be located anywhere in the world, their customs and agreements may be differ from what a business (located elsewhere) actually thinks that these terms mean. For example, if a business was located in the US and their SaaS service provider was located in the UK (or any other part of the world other than the US), then there will be a time difference (among other differences) between the two organizations.

This has a number of consequences when dealing with availability agreements or any other types of agreement clauses for that matter. For example a SaaS service provider may have a clause stating that they guarantee the availability of software services during business hours. However, a business should be clear about what exactly is meant by phrase ‘business hours’. For example, does it mean that these software services will be available during the SaaS service provider’s business hours or does it mean that these software services will be available during their client’s business hours, which will differ from theirs due to geographical differences?

Also, still using the same example above, a SaaS service provider may have a different interpretation of what the term ‘business hours’ means, when compared to what their client actually needs. For example a SaaS service provider may define the term business hours meaning nine till five. However if a business operated 24/7, then obviously this clause is no good for them.

If a SaaS service provider has any vaguely written agreement clauses, then a business should clarify exactly what these clauses mean and if they are not happy with these clauses, then they should negotiate their own agreement clauses or select another service provider that better matches their needs.

5. Consider IT support requirements

Businesses should consider what level of IT professionals they will need, as well as what the expectations of their SaaS service provider actually are. For example will a business be able to continue operating with their existing workforce, once SaaS has been implemented or will they need to bring in additional IT professionals? Will a businesses SaaS service provider expect a business to have technical geniuses on hand or will anyone with a basic knowledge of IT be able to use their software services?

The level of support that a business will have to provide for SaaS software services themselves, all depends on what level of support their SaaS software vendor can provide them with. If a SaaS software vendor just delivers their software services but with very little support or documentation, then a business will need to employ a solid IT support workforce. However, if a SaaS software vendor provides clear instructions and documentation in clear English (with very little technical jargon) then a business should be able to continue operating without needing to bring in additional IT support professionals.

6. Find out if anything has to be done if your service provider fails to deliver the standard of services that they promised

A business should have already negotiated the consequences that a SaaS service provider will face if they fail to deliver the standard of software services that they promised. However, what a lot of businesses don’t realize is that some SaaS service providers do not automate this process. This means that a business will have slightly more work to do in the form of writing a letter, writing an email or putting in a requests, to receive the ‘credits’ that they should be entitled to.

Businesses should be clear about whether the above process is an automated one or if it is not. If it is not an automated process, then a business should be clear about exactly what action they have to take, in order to receive what they are entitled to, when their SaaS service provider fails to deliver their services up to the standard that was guaranteed by them in their Service Level Agreement contract.

7. Make sure that employees are properly trained

Due to the fact that implementing SaaS is such a relatively straightforward procedure, businesses can easily forget to do other things, which would otherwise be obvious. One of these things is training their staff. To avoid problems once SaaS software services have been implemented, a business should train their staff on how to access these new software services, as well as on how to use these new software services, during their initial setup stage. Once SaaS has been implemented, training on how to use these software services should be given, just as training would be given to employees on how to use any other new software service.

8. Consider what exit strategies you have

One thing that businesses should not overlook once they have implemented SaaS is what back out strategies they have. For example are they able to leave their SaaS service provider at any time. Will they easily be able to migrate to another SaaS service provider or will they easily be able to return back to an on-premises software infrastructure.