Guest View: Siren Song: Appliances Lure Back SaaS Faithful

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AS OF 9/5/2008 11:36PM EST

Guest View: Siren Song: Appliances Lure Back SaaS Faithful
By Wynn White

July 15, 2008 —

Software as a service (SaaS) has been red hot in certain market sectors for a number of years and is commonly believed to be the delivery model of choice for small and medium-sized enterprises. Ease of use, fast deployment and low upfront costs are not in dispute. SaaS is an attractive solution for many; however, it is not the panacea for software adoption in the medium enterprise, principally because SaaS just doesn’t work well for all applications.

A case in point is systems management. There are numerous management functions that can’t be done over a WAN—the protocols are simply not supported. Coupled with real issues around network latency and security, comprehensive systems management through a traditional SaaS model becomes difficult at best, and in some cases, nearly impossible.

Even the bloom of subscription-based pricing has begun to fall off as more and more studies show that while attractive up front, the pricing model can prove costlier over the long run when compared to traditional software licensing models. How can one get the ease of use and rapid deployment of SaaS while keeping full functionality and being affordable? Turn the pages of technology’s brief history and look to the appliance form factor.

In theory, the appliance model is ideal for simplifying any server application by minimizing the tasks typically associated with installation, configuration and maintenance. The customer receives all service and maintenance from the application vendor, eliminating the requirement to manage multiple maintenance streams, licenses and service contracts. The software appliance could be sold as a single-point solution, becoming a viable, cost-effective alternative to SaaS.

The appliance model was heralded with grand promises in the 1990s, only to quickly fall into ignominy as a result of simplistic, haphazard couplings between software and hardware that lacked many of the advantages originally touted. At the time, customers and vendors alike abandoned the appliance model amidst broken promises of simplicity and cost effectiveness.

Like many in the industry, my own relationship with appliances dates back to those disappointments of the early days, when big enterprise players like Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Oracle and others were installing proprietary software on Dell or their own branded hardware and shipping as so-called “appliances.” These products were really pre-installed and configured servers, saving only the time taken to get a new server up and running.

Today, those with knowledge of the appliance’s early history may approach this software deployment model with trepidation. Yet, the biggest skeptic can become the earliest convert and greatest evangelist.

Current appliances are far different than their predecessors. For starters, they shouldn’t be called merely “appliances.” They are purpose-built devices, built from the ground up, with a specific function and method of operating—hardened for security, optimized for performance and function, and tailored to facilitate easy updates and support. They take the black box approach to solving a problem, where everything necessary (database, OS, reporting software, etc.) is baked right in all the required hardware and targeted to a specific function. The result: an all-in-one approach that, in most cases, simply needs to be plugged in.

As part of this new generation, appliances have found a home in the systems management market, among others. These appliances have become core to the data center and are being used by administrators on a daily basis. Classified as server application appliances, they offer the same ease of use and rapid deployment provided by SaaS (essentially, slap it in the rack and turn it on), but operate within an organization’s network. This allows IT to do everything needed to fully manage the environment in a secure and simple fashion.

The all-in-one approach minimizes deployment times and brings to an organization a cost-effective way to implement complex management tasks. Companies like Cast Iron, IronPort (now Cisco) and KACE are all great examples of these type of appliances and have rapidly carved out a place for themselves within their respective functions of security, systems management and enterprise application integration.

These evolved appliances are also finding a sweet spot among customers. While the companies mentioned above may have started out targeting different customer segments and sizes (and some still do), overall they have seen strong adoption by medium-sized enterprises. The reasons for appliances’ acceptance are the same reasons for the original success of SaaS: a model that is easy to deploy, comprehensive in nature and cost-effective, yet with the horsepower of a purpose-built solution residing within the data center.

For the medium enterprise, which is often resource-constrained and lacking hands-on expertise for complicated software deployments, the appliance approach means secure, reliable, all-in-one, automatically maintained and updated, and affordable—it’s all part of the appliance allure.

Wynn White is vice president of marketing at KACE.

Related Search Term(s): SOA & SaaS

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