1. Do you focus on year 1 costs or a long-term TCO?
Cloud Preferred: • Year 1 costs are lower with SaaS (50% to 75% less) • Save money on servers • Prefer annual subscription model
On-Premise Preferred: • 3+ year TCO typically favors on-premise • Overall consulting costs similar • Prefer perpetual license model
2. What is the state of your IT resources?
Cloud Preferred: • Lowers requirement for IT services • Data and application moved offsite • System administration needs are reduced • Upgrades managed by vendor
On-Premise Preferred: • Will require IT support • Data and application are local • Plan for local system administration • Upgrades are do-it-yourself
3. What is the nature of your system integrations?
Cloud Preferred: • Limited number of integrations • Well defined and understood • Typically static and one-way
On-Premise Preferred: • Need a number of integrations to other applications • Evolving and complex • Typically dynamic and bi-directional
4. Does your organization have experience with Cloud?
Cloud Preferred: • Other Cloud application(s) in place • Cloud understood and accepted • Executive support for SaaS
On-Premise Preferred: • No Cloud application(s) in place • CRM and ERP applications have been deployed on-premise • Executive team see Cloud applications as a risk
5. What is your history with Application upgrades?
Cloud Preferred: • Bad history with upgrades • No current upgrade process • Generally lacking in-house skills
On-Premise Preferred: • Good history with upgrades • Established upgrade process • The right skills available
6. Rate your readiness for ‘out-of-the-box’?
Cloud Preferred: • Organization is ready to embrace standard applications • Business is more standardized • Bad experience with custom applications
On-Premise Preferred: • Applications tend to be more customized • Business is highly unique • Have aptitude to sustain customizations
7. How are your users distributed?
Cloud Preferred: • Highly distributed user base • More complex upgrade process • Reliable internet access
On-Premise Preferred: • Centralized with fewer locations • Upgrades more localized • High quality servers
8. Are Cap Ex or Op Ex budgets more favorable?
Cloud Preferred: • Operating Expense budget preferred • Smaller financial impact in year 1 • Annual subscription preferred
On-Premise Preferred: • Capital Expense budget preferred • Larger financial impact in year 1 • Purchase of perpetual licenses