Is it worth considering SaaS for Capacity Management? (3 of 3)

I left you with the question on Monday of 'Where does this leave you?' and I guess I have raised as many questions as I have answered. 

This is no surprise as whether or not SaaS is the best model for your Capacity Management depends on your organization and your needs.  The questions are really the same as any outsourcing decision: who will do what and will it be worth the money?.

There are of course some questions that might be a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer for your organization.  If your security policies are such that any capacity data will not be allowed to be transferred out of the business, SaaS is not for you.  Understanding and getting answers to these questions first will save a lot of wasted time and effort considering options.

 
My concern would always be over the intangible area of knowledge.  While I can see a third party being able to meet a regular, standard, repeated reporting requirement, much of the value of Capacity Management is beyond this.  Whenever I visit our clients I am always impressed at the breadth of knowledge the Capacity Management team has across both IT and the business.  It is taking this knowledge and combining it with the raw information produced from technical capacity data that is the source of true Capacity Management value to me.  For this reason alone I can see the value in passing the logistics of Capacity Management to a SaaS provider.  Let them have the delights of keeping software up to date, ensuring there is adequate hardware resource at any time and so on. I would then usually prefer to have the intellectual capital, the use and application of that data allied to knowledge of my own business, kept in-house.  Replacing it will take time and money.

That is just one man’s opinion however.  Your organization might benefit from an expert Capacity Management business managing their capacity issues from cradle to grave, raw data to information to support your business decisions.  In this instance I would always recommend a specialist Capacity Management company with experience to bring.  Their Capacity Management knowledge and experience will be a lot harder to find than a business that can simply provide and maintain infrastructure and software for you.

If there is one area of conclusion therefore, it would be around the issue of expertise.  Whether your Capacity Management is on premise or SaaS, someone needs specialist Capacity Management knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge to issues unique to your organization.   Whatever route you take, make sure that experience is on your payroll, or that of your provider.

 

If you don’t, all you might get is data.

Take a look at our SaaS Capacity Management http://www.metron-athene.com/products/athene-capacity-management-software-as-a-service/index.html

Andrew Smith

Chief Executive Officer