Instead of developing software applications in-house, many organizations choose to either purchase COTS packages to run on their internal systems or purchase SaaS packages to run in the cloud. While these approaches have many benefits, they also pose unique challenges.
Select and follow one of the options for this Discussion.
Discussion Question Option 1:
Interview an IT professional who has had experience integrating either COTS or SaaS in his or her organization. Ask the following questions (at a minimum):
Why did the IT department or organization choose this approach over building a solution in-house?
What were the benefits and challenges associated with this choice, particularly when integrating the COTS or SaaS solutions with existing technologies?
What criteria did the IT department or organization use to choose the COTS or SaaS package/vendor?
Was the effort considered successful by the IT department and the organization as a whole?
Post a brief description of your interview, summarizing the answers to the questions you asked. Also, be sure to identify the field or industry in which this IT professional serves, as well as their department (personal/organization names are not necessary).
Then, evaluate what you heard in your interview. What observations, criticisms, or suggestions would you have contributed to the solution had you been on the project team for this integration?
Defend and support your opinion and remember to properly cite your sources according to APA guidelines.
Discussion Question Option 2:
Assume you are the CIO of a large organization that currently includes multiple in-house-developed legacy computer systems. You have been asked to research the possibility of integrating either a COTS or SaaS package within the organization.
By Day 3
Post an initial Discussion post that addresses each of the following items based on your researched materials:
Provide a brief comparison of COTS and SaaS.
Assuming you have decided to integrate a SaaS package into your organization, research at least three companies/vendors who currently provide SaaS packages. Which vendor would you select? Why?
Include a brief summary of the benefits and challenges of integrating the selected SaaS package with your current in-house system.
What criteria would you use to determine the success of the SaaS integration with the current system?
This question number 2 separate
2. Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Web Services provide a systematic and consistent way for services to be accessed over the Internet. Often, these services are provided as part of a cloud computing solution that fits into one of the following categories:
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS),
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), or
Integration-Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS).
Post an initial Discussion post that addresses the following:
How does the company integrate those technologies into their information system architecture?
What benefits do the technologies provide?
What are the challenges?
Assess whether the technology is being used appropriately for the company’s purposes.
Please comment on this post below.
Great discussion post for this week. I see that your environment is mixed. I have compared the COTS approach and the SAAS approach on the effects on staff. My preferences are divided. In the former, the choice was laboring. The option created a prolonged sales cycle starting with Requests for Information (RFI), User Requirements Specifications (URS), and Request For Proposals (RFP). As part of this product evaluation, the customers would see how valuable answers from the supplier match their requirements.
This process was time-consuming and open to interpretation. But created bonding for the team then the employers will pay for training lodge you in a reasonable hotel, and you have an expert work you down the drill, by the time you return you are somewhat confident and feel good about the process
But the SaaS business models thou it speeds up the process by offering potential customers Freemium models, online tutorials, and online customer support. Especially allowing the supplier to provide instant, scalable access to their SaaS platforms encourages the customer to try before they buy. The countless online tutorials are nothing other than to figure it out on your own. You lose that camaraderie and eureka moment teams share when you get the hang of things.
Having been exposed to both environments, what is your take on SAAS as it relates to knowledge transfer.
Please also comment on this post below.
Custom Off the Shelf software is built and maintained by a 3rd party vendor. The software can be purchased or leased. The consumer has the right to install and operate the software and is responsible for the management and configuration of the software (Baecke, 2020).
The Software as a Service software is provided to the consumer as a shared service. The consumer pays for the usage of the service. The provider of the software is responsible for managing the software stack. The consumer is given the ability to configure the software in accordance with software capabilities (Baecke, 2020).
Salesforce is a top vendor for SaaS software. It provides cross functional insights and reporting. Data is a key component for growing a business. Data isn’t useful without being analyzed, sorted, cleaned, and made to be usable for multiple parties within a business. The CRM system consolidates comprehensive analysis of customer activities. The platform can be used for consolidation, tabulation, and customization of a report for department needs.
All the team members of the organization can gather insight and data to be able to work together to provide quality customer service and experience. The data is organized and presented to help with giving customers a better understanding of their accounts through automation.
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