Eight Questions to Ask When Evaluating SAAS Vendors

1. Do you guarantee system availability?
Ask vendors to demonstrate that they are meeting their availability targets, and ask reference accounts if they have had any issues.

2. How easy will it be to integrate your solution with other applications?
Your SAAS vendor should have already integrated its solution with other complementary applications and should offer a standards-based interface to enable additional integrations. You shouldn’t have to settle for an all-in-one suite from a single vendor.

3. Can your application be customized?
SAAS vendors should offer ways to customize and personalize their applications to meet your specific needs.

4. How often is your solution enhanced?
SAAS solutions are commonly updated every month. Ask your SAAS vendors to show you their product road maps, and ask how and when they roll out enhancements.

5. What kind of responsiveness can I expect when I need support
Find out about the vendor’s phone, e-mail and live chat support, and ask for typical response times. Also ask about available self-help solutions.

6. What happens if you fail to meet your SLAs?
Ask the vendor to provide a detailed account of the consequences for missing SLAs (service-level agreements). Does it guarantee subscription credits and fee refunds if SLAs for uptime and support responsiveness are not met? Does the vendor have a plan in place where employee compensation is tied to customer satisfaction?

7. In case of a major disaster, what systems do you have in place to protect my data?
Find out whether the vendor offers co-location capabilities, guarantees that customers will be up and running within a certain timeframe, and the amount of data loss that can be expected in case of disaster.

8. If I decide to terminate my contract, how easy will it be to get my data back?
Will the SAAS vendor export your data from its system immediately and offer it to you in optional external mediums and formats? Will the vendor offer limited access to data for a set amount of time following termination?