Global Trade Management Solution Deployment Considerations
A number of considerations come into play when choosing a deployment model. They include cost, day-to-day operations and IT support. Functionality, integration and customization are unaffected by the deployment model selected.
Many enterprises don’t want to cede the control that comes with running software in-house. They rightly feel that deploying fully automated and integrated solutions allows them to better differentiate themselves from their competitors. In some vertical industries such as global trade and supply chain logistics, complex security and regulatory requirements can make the client-hosted model the only viable option.
The cost-of-ownership question is a little trickier. Not surprisingly, the nod in terms of costs initially goes to cloud or SaaS solutions. Here, clients do not have to invest in hardware or factor IT personnel into their cost models. However, there is another critical factor that is sometimes overlooked: The costs associated with client-hosted or licensed models drop over time. Eventually, costs primarily involve maintenance fees. With cloud or vendor-hosted solutions, customers will continue to pay transaction fees. Experts believe that the cost differential between the two models begins to equalize somewhere in the third year.
Our customers can freely switch between delivery models when and if their business conditions change. Earned credits can be applied to offset the costs.
| Factor | On the QuestaWeb Cloud | Self-Hosted |
| Cost | Lower startup cost. Pay per transaction. Inability to capitalize hardware and software costs. |
Requires up-front investment. Becomes cost effective during the third year (faster with a higher volume of transactions). |
| Implementation | Standard implementation requires setup and training. | Standard implementation requires installation and training. |
| Ongoing Support | Less maintenance required in-house. Reliance on the vendor for mission-critical system support. |
Requires ongoing maintenance in-house, along with vendor support via a Software Maintenance Agreement. |
Security
|
Sensitive data stored by the vendor, normally with a disclaimer.
|
Sensitive data stored on site.
|
