SaaS solutions are the darlings of the tech community, growing at the direct expense of premise-based software. This is certainly true for Order Management Systems (OMS). Yet premise-based solutions still make up half of the OMS market. And some companies are still building their own homegrown solutions.
Why?
There are good reasons for each. And we’ve recently published a white paper that can help you decide which approach makes the most sense for your organization. It’s titled, “Home Grown, On-Premise, or SaaS: Which OMS is Best for Me?”
The right choice between build vs. buy, or between a SaaS and a premise-based solution, depends on the needs and capabilities of each individual business.
Answering a handful of questions can help a mid-market merchant decide which approach is best for their business:
Build vs. Buy
- Does my company have unique, differentiating needs that are not supported by off-the-shelf OMS solutions? Can they be supported with customization?
- Is software development a core differentiator for our business? Is it an area in which we can afford to focus?
SaaS vs Premise-Based
- How much customization makes sense for my company? Are we customizing our OMS to meet unique needs? Or are we customizing to make up for a lack of basic core infrastructure?
- How strong is our data center? Can we match the enterprise strength data centers of a SaaS provider? Is that a cost we want to manage on our own?
The answers usually depend on a company’s size.
- SaaS is typically best for mid-market merchants that don’t yet have the scale to manage a state-of-the-art data center and differentiate based on their product selection, pricing, merchandising, and service – not on their technology.
- Premise-based solutions, more easily customizable, yet more expensive to manage, are more appropriate for larger companies, in the $500mm+ revenue range. These retailers have more complex infrastructure, have more custom needs, and have the scale to manage a top-notch data center.
- Homegrown solutions, even for the largest merchants, must be core to their differentiation. The expense of building software that others have already built for a large audience, must be justified by a significant bottom line opportunity.
You can learn much more by downloading our whitepaper, “Home Grown, On-Premise, or SaaS: Which OMS is Best for Me?” Whether you’re going to build, buy an on-premise solution, or rent a cloud-based solution, our can help you decide which features to include in your requirements.