*Recommended

Software as a Service (Saas)

This is a subscription agreement in which the client “rents” the software licenses over a pre-negotiated term.  The client maintains the right to utilize the software as long as subscription fees are paid.  Generally, the client pays for the use of the licenses on an annual basis over the course of the term.  Additionally, as part of the service, the software provider, or their contracted partner, maintains an d supports the software and hardware. Depending on provider and software configuration, the client’s instance can reside either in a single-tenant or multi-tenant environment.  

Best for companies that have limited IT resources, looking for quick deployment, have a number of remote workforces, or anticipate a need to scale up or down in the future.

On Premises

As the name implies, with this option, the software is deployed at the customer site(s) and the customer takes on the responsibility of maintaining the software and required hardware to support the system.  Generally, the customer pays for, or finances, all software at time of purchase and retains the right to use the licenses in perpetuity.

Best for companies that need extensive customization or require full control of data and infrastructure.

Hosted

In this model, license purchases and rights are the same as with an on-premise deployment, but the location of the deployed software and required hardware shifts to a 3rd party provider.  There are two distinct paths in this scenario.  The client can choose a 3rd party provider who provides only for the hardware requirements, in which case the responsibility for maintaining the software still resides with the client, or the client can choose a provider that will maintain both the hardware and the software.