SAAS or On-Premise E-mail: Which is Best? - Bottom Line: Getting the Message Right
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BOTTOM LINE
Getting the Message Right
Solution providers will find that there’s a lot more to comparing those three scenarios than just dollars and cents. Solution providers will also have to weigh the pros and cons of each implementation and judge which is a best fit for their customers and their pocket books.
For example, a customer may not like the idea of their data living in the cloud–in that case, both the DirectPointe and Microsoft BPOS may fall off the list. Some customers may want to know how their hosted data is protected from damage and unauthorized access. In some cases, hosted service providers have turned customer data over to the authorities via a mix of confusing legal and ethical assumptions.
Solution providers may also want to take future growth into consideration. Here, the DirectPointe solution may prove to be the least flexible for expansion when compared to the SBS2008 and BPOS solutions. Expansion can lead to custom configuration needs and custom applications, in that situation the SBS2008 solution will reign supreme. Some customers may prefer the comfort of a fixed monthly fee without a major capital expense upfront – here the DirectPointe solution could meet those needs.
It all comes down to balancing perceived needs against future considerations. For many businesses, the solution may not matter as much as the availability. Hosted applications can edge out premise solutions by offering anywhere/anytime access and are pretty much immune to downtime.
Messaging and Collaboration 
