So what are the differences and similarities in evaluating “…as a service” alternatives when comparing to on-premise alternatives? Here are some of the likenesses:
Requirements rule: Our practice leaders always recommend that a client begin with listing their organizational and business needs and formulating the required technical functionality to meet them. Documenting them is key, since you must record them sooner or later, so you might as well do that before selecting any technology. Evaluating all alternatives against the requirements is the single best way to head off financial, operational and resource risks.
Financial risks still exist: While “…as a Service” (cloud) alternatives may have no upfront capital risk, depending on the terms and conditions of the service contract, substantial financial consequences can still exist with cloud alternatives. Appropriate contractual provisions can limit that exposure, but even then there will often be substantial “non-recurring” (i.e., up front) costs that pose a liability.
Operational risks still exist: Whether the service under consideration is a contact center, unified communications, collaboration or another technology, key project and technical issues will impact your business operations. Such issues can affect customer acquisition and retention or other key needs of the establishment, as well as the direct and indirect costs to provide your organization’s services. These operational risks exist whether the technology is in the cloud or on premise. Again, the requirements rule but the implementation process, such as extensive user acceptance testing, is an essential way to identify issues before they affect operations.
Resource risks still exist: While cloud services accommodate more of the technical resource needs from the customer or the value-added re-seller (VAR) currently in play with on-premises technologies, “cloud” projects still engage significant portions of your IT and operational departments’ resources. Projects may take up significant portions of scarce resource time, time that is at risk if not properly utilized, and will introduce unexpected project delays or impact other important undertakings. Here is where an experienced consulting team/partner can help identify potential pitfalls, again in advance when they can be handled with least impact.
The SUCCESS of a project is achieved by fully meeting the organizational needs and business requirements and avoiding or mitigating financial, operational, and resource risks through best practices. These practices apply whether the project leverages technology from “the cloud” or is purchased as an on-premise platform.
These practices require practice and continuously-honed experience — consider leveraging a consulting partner to augment your organization’s capabilities in evaluating, selecting, and managing technical projects.
