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To be honest, there is no “right” answer to this question. It all depends on conditions, financials as well as the features you want your solution to have. Of course, as a “newer” technology, SaaS may have more advantages and this is something that cannot be overlooked.
Financials
The first question you need to be asking yourselves, is if your budget can support such expenses, since SaaS and upgrading have different costs. Upgrading is a capital expenditure, paid only once (plus licensing and maintenance cost). On the other hand, SaaS is paid on a monthly subscription basis and is considered as an operational expenditure. So, SaaS is a fixed cost, while upgrading is not, since -apart from the initial cost of installation and software– there may be other relevant expenses that, in most cases, cannot be foreseen.
What is best? The answer mostly relies on what you’re looking for. SaaS requires no initial investment, which is a very important advantage -especially for small and medium businesses. So, you’ll have to consider all aspects carefully before you decide which one solution is the best for your company.
Features
An equally important factor is the available features of each solution. Does SaaS or upgrading provide you with everything you need? What about ease of use? Most probably, in both cases, the integrated features will be more than the ones provided by your existing solution; but, they are not all equally important. SaaS is a cloud solution and therefore has certain specifications, one of them being that you no longer need to worry for server and hardware maintenance. This means less expenses for power and more available storage space. Furthermore, your vendor will be responsible for backups, so that you can really focus on your business goals.
Finally, if your business strategy is mobile-oriented, you’ll find out that SaaS greatly simplifies the complexity of safety protocols. SaaS systems are generally designed with mobility as a first priority, thus facilitating the addition or support of mobile operations.
