IDC say critics of SaaS cynical

"The Software as a Service (SaaS) model has come a long way since its early days in the 90s when Application Service Providers (ASPs) used to have really hard time convincing customers to buy business critical software in the form of a hosted solution. Issues such as delivery, performance, security, integration and customization associated with the SaaS methodology proved to be major hurdles in its mass adoption by the customer community. However, the current decade is ushering in a new era of renewed interest in SaaS with companies around the globe beginning to realize the 'business sense' in it and the value it offers.

The primary dogma that once prevailed in customer mindsets was regarding the security concerns associated with SaaS delivery method. The idea of putting mission critical data into an unknown server belonging to a third party was a 'no-no' to many organizations. However, that fear is fast going away. According to Erin Traudt, Research Analyst, SaaS Research IDC, "Though security concerns continue to come up in our annual SaaS surveys, we, at IDC believe that the importance that's given to them is somewhat cynical in nature."

In fact Traudt believes that some of the other issues such as customization, integration, functionality of the hosted applications and service provider reliability/ viability are more pertinent and require due consideration. "