I find it interesting reading articles, listening to webcast presentations from CEO's on how wonderful Software as a Service has really become. I ask myself - really? Do you find them out of touch as much as I do? Perhaps they are just listening to the SaaS salesman.
Software as a Service does have some value, don't get me wrong, there are some great solutions out there. Salesforce.com, Service Now, and the list goes on. So what is the problem you ask? Glad you ask, because in reality, there is a disconnect in the organization.
I have found many organizational users frustrated with IT because their support, service and attitude has gone down hill. Really? The business went and purchased a SaaS solution to meet a business need. IT is not involved, but also does not have the ability or capability to support this solution. The SaaS solution is a cloud based solution, that means servers, storage, user accounts, application support - all done by the SaaS partner. So when the user calls the service desk saying they are having issues with their application, and the service desk has to ask them to call the SaaS provider - there is the rub. Right? The user does not want a list of 30 SaaS provider help desk numbers to call, we have trained them for years to call 1 extension number for the service desk. Now IT says we can not help them, call someone else.
In addition, I hear many times over, the finger pointing starts. The SaaS says it is the network, the IT Team says it is the SaaS, and the list goes on. The user is caught in the middle, and they don't know if it is the application, the network, their desktop, or even how they are trying to use it. Now the frustration has hit the users of the organization.
Time for some process evaluation and how the organization is going to come back together, work together and solve these new challenges. Put a stop to the SaaS shopping spree and get some process in place on how as an organization you are going to support these new applications, how will they integrate into the environment, and remain secure. Many of these application need data from other sources internal to the organization or will provide data to other systems internal. That upstream and downstream integration into your data flows is key. In addition, figure out user provisioning, data leak prevention, and most important - user interaction. Help the users, if you can't answer the question, have a integrated service desk incident management system with your provider to open tickets on behalf of the user.
There are many organizational benefits to having great applications, including SaaS offerings. It is equally important to have these offerings integrated into the organziation as to minimize the impact to your user community. There is no room in today's tough business climate to have walls internal to the organization.
Keep it positive!
Scott Arnett
scott.arnett@charter.net
About Me
- Scott Arnett
- Scott Arnett is an Information Technology & Security Professional Executive with over 30 years experience in IT. Scott has worked in various industries such as health care, insurance, manufacturing, broadcast, printing, and consulting and in enterprises ranging in size from $50M to $20B in revenue. Scott’s experience encompasses the following areas of specialization: Leadership, Strategy, Architecture, Business Partnership & Acumen, Process Management, Infrastructure and Security. With his broad understanding of technology and his ability to communicate successfully with both Executives and Technical Specialists, Scott has been consistently recognized as someone who not only can "Connect the Dots", but who can also create a workable solution. Scott is equally comfortable playing technical, project management/leadership and organizational leadership roles through experience gained throughout his career. Scott has previously acted in the role of CIO, CTO, and VP of IT, successfully built 9 data centers across the country, and is expert in understanding ITIL, PCI Compliance, SOX, HIPAA, FERPA, FRCP and COBIT.
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