In the traditional software model, you purchase and install software on your own or hosted servers with enough licenses to meet your requirements. The software is your property, you own and can use for “perpetuity”. Optionally, you may also pay an annual maintenance fee (usually around 20% of the original software cost) to receive continuous technical support and most importantly, periodic software updates that enhance the software or take advantage of changes in technology.
With the SaaS model, you do not own the software, you purchase a “subscription” for as many licenses as you need, usually on an annual basis. You do not deploy the software, it is provided to you through “The Cloud” (the internet). So, as long as you have a connection to the internet, you have access to the software and can use it just like you would use it if it was running on your own computer or servers. Additionally, you do not pay an annual “maintenance fee”, it’s included in the subscription. Software version updates may be automatic or provided on request. When your project is done, you usually receive a backup of your data which in most cases can be accessed by a variety of SQL query and report tools. Or you can reduce your number of subscribers to a minimum number to be able to access your data for as long as you need it.
Some clients prefer a hybrid version of this where they purchase the software but then have a vendor like DRMcNatty deploy it in a Cloud Hosted environment for the same type of access as the SaaS model with the added benefit of being able to self-deploy the software and data internally after the project is complete so they can stop paying monthly hosting fees and still be able to access their data for as long as needed.
Oracle P6 EPPM and Unifier we support are all available in either a SaaS or Hosted model. Pricing for each approach can be comparable of an extended period of time. We can help you to decide which model works best for you today.