What is Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)?
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is a content management system delivered directly through your browser. As a subscription service updated regularly through the internet, SaaS offers numerous time and cost-saving advantages over on-premises content management software systems while providing much greater adaptability, allowing the user to evolve and refine the system as needs change.

Why is SaaS a better model than installing and maintaining an on-premise Content Management software system?
It's simple. No hardware to buy. No software to install. No huge upfront fees. No need to resource IT staff. No worries about downtime, backups, or recovery. Just log into your browser and you're there.

How much faster to deploy is SpringCM's Content Management system compared to on-premises software systems?
Unlike with legacy software systems, you're up-and-running in days or weeks — rather than months or even years as with many on-premises systems. And that's not even taking into consideration all the time and resources required by on-premises applications.

Can SpringCM SaaS enable us to fulfill and integrate all of our document management needs?
Solving a typical content management business problem requires the integration of multiple technologies like document management, workflow, scanning, capture, e-mail management, etc. SpringCM delivers 20 already integrated content management technologies so there's no need to purchase additional modules and budget for costly, time-consuming integration services.

How much will it cost?
As a pay-as-you-go subscription service, SpringCM allows you maximum flexibility for minimum cost. Upon initial implementation, which typically amounts to a small fraction of equivalent on-premises software, you control how much you pay and only pay for what you need.

Doing away with hardware, administration, and integration service costs combined with the ability to control and configure services to your needs makes SpringCM the most flexible, affordable content management system available.

Does SpringCM allow customers to "try before we buy"?
SpringCM offers a free trial period, enabling you to configure your solution and try it without making any commitments. We deliver a complete, low-cost solution customers can be sure of before buying. We believe this is the way services should be delivered.

How does SpringCM's structure its pricing?
SpringCM is a complete solution priced like a platform. For example, if a General Counsel buys the Contract Management solution, they can use SpringCM for any other legal document management purpose or make use of other solutions at no extra cost. Once users are registered in SpringCM, they can securely access and participate in all solutions.

Our budgets are getting tighter. How do I justify the cost?
SpringCM is paid for on a subscription basis, typically considered an operating expense. This allows you to avoid the paperwork, delays, and "red tape" of capital expenditure requests. With SpringCM, you can implement the solution and have it fully operational in less time than it takes to gain approval for the capital expenditure request for on-premises software.

What about security?
Unlike on-premises content management products, SaaS architecture enables SpringCM engineers to build in additional security controls. SpringCM employs an advanced access-control framework built into the core solution that enables secure authentication, provides advanced logging of user activity and allows administrators to control who has access to highly sensitive documents. Multiple layers of firewalls ensure the highest levels of protection against intrusion and security vulnerabilities.

How reliable and available is SpringCM?
With proven 99.97% uptime, the likelihood of our servers going down is almost nil, a standard most internal IT organizations can't match. SpringCM's documented disaster recovery plan includes redundant and fail-over servers, routers, and switches. We follow a best-practices system-hardening process to strengthen our core systems and network devices from potential attacks.

How easy is it to access stored data?
SpringCM hosts your data, but it's your data. It can be downloaded free, at any time, by anyone with permission and without IT involvement. We can also provide DVD or hard drive backups.

Can SpringCM make a real difference in terms of enterprise agility and responsiveness?
SpringCM is designed to address all of your content management needs through configuration, rather than programming. This results in much faster deployment and the ability to take full advantage of upgrades as they are released every 10 - 12 weeks. The best of both worlds is regularly delivered to you: applications specific to your needs and the ability to use new features and enhancements as they become available. As your business evolves, SpringCM adapts accordingly, without requiring costly, time-consuming reprogramming.

Easy Integration
The ability to integrate document management with existing line-of-business (LOB) systems is critical to success. SpringCM allows you to quickly access document management and workflow features from within other applications without learning a new system to take advantage of added capabilities. Integrations can be as loosely coupled as using a flat file or as tight as using SpringCM's complete Web services capabilities for seamless and productive integration with other SaaS and installed applications.

SpringCM offers a number of ways to integrate your systems from the very basic to the most elegant, any or all of which a SpringCM representative will happily review with you.

What's the track record of SaaS as compared to on-premises ECM deployments?
SaaS' many advantages and enhancements result in an abundance of end-user success stories. In the April 21, 2008, Information Week Analytics Report on SaaS, more than 90 percent of companies queried reported that their SaaS implementation had largely or totally met their expectations. Contrast these numbers with the extensive record of failures for on-premises ECM deployments and you'll see why so many organizations are migrating to SaaS solutions.

As the acknowledged leader in SaaS-based content management solutions, SpringCM is ideally positioned to partner with you. To learn about the features and benefits only SpringCM delivers, call a SpringCM representative at 877.362.7273, or send us an e-mail at sales@springcm.com.