Execs less interested in SaaS than other ERP: study

Executives at middle market to large companies are less interested in implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) software through subscription-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) than on-premise implementations or exploring a private cloud delivery system, a new study says.

The study, sponsored by IFS, which examines attitudes and implementation plans of executives at industrial companies with more than $50 million in revenue. It shows that levels of interest for SaaS were relatively low compared to other provisioning systems. The number of respondents saying they were “very interested” in SaaS was a quarter of the number saying they were “very interested” in on-premise.

While the majority expressed some degree of familiarity with SaaS, respondents did not indicate they planned to switch to SaaS-based ERP in any numbers. ERP has traditionally been hosted on-premise, which, according to the study, remains as the preferred option among executives.

Private cloud, a model that includes a perpetual license to the software combined with a cloud computing deployment dedicated to the single customer, also fared well in the survey. More than 64 per cent of respondents expressed some degree of interest in ERP through private cloud, while only 50 per cent expressed any degree of interest in SaaS ERP.

“It is clear that despite the general interest for SaaS solutions, most companies still prefer more traditional delivery methods for ERP,” IFS North America chief technology officer Rick Veague said. “SaaS, private cloud and on-premise implementations each offer their distinct advantages, with SaaS holding more appeal for best of breed solutions than for ERP. This is very much in line with our philosophy and the choices IFS offers between various cloud delivery systems.”

The study, “Cloud Hosting Preferences for ERP Software,” is based on a survey of 200 North American industrial executives. It is available for free download at: http://download.ifsworld.com/studies.