What to Know About a SaaS Model for Your Cloud Solutions
June 19, 2024 by Ashlin McMaken
Traditionally, the justice system has relied on extensive on-premises solutions to manage justice applications across multiple servers – some larger agencies deploying 40-50 servers. But in the digital age, the wheels of justice are turning towards the cloud.
Courts and justice agencies who have historically been cautious about adopting cloud technology due to system complexity and strict compliance requirements are now embracing it as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). SaaS solutions are fully managed by a vendor and provided as a subscription service, meaning agencies can get the most out of their cloud technology with automatic system upgrades, a scalable infrastructure, and minimized maintenance needs.
As justice agencies consider the cloud, there are five important factors to know about a SaaS model:
- Infrastructure: Assessing internal network capacity is crucial for seamless connectivity to SaaS services. Experience shows that most agencies have adequate bandwidth, even in rural areas, for cloud solutions. To fully optimize the return on investment for SaaS adoption, agencies should also have a grounded understanding of the remaining service life of its existing infrastructure hardware.
- Staff Expertise: In an on-premises world, agencies must ensure they have the necessary expertise to manage services and respond to security threats effectively – despite limited staff and resources. SaaS solutions alleviate the demands on in-house IT staff, allowing them to tackle other projects and priorities that have been on the backburner.
- Backup and Disaster Recovery: For agencies in disaster-prone areas, protecting data is essential. Cloud services are built on redundant hosting, which offers enhanced resiliency to reduce risk, protect against data loss, and ensure business continuity. In a SaaS model, these responsibilities lie in the hands of your provider, who has the expertise to support it including measures for encryption, firewalls, and authentication measures.
- Regulatory Compliance: Compliance with security standards such as Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) is critical. Agencies must assess their ability to keep pace with these evolving mandates versus partnering with compliant SaaS providers.
- Cost: While the pricing models for SaaS services may appear different from on-premises solutions, Terry Derrick, Tyler’s general manager for court solutions, urges agencies to consider the total cost of ownership. “Self-deployed solutions give you some benefits of the cloud, but the cost profile could become substantial to get the right expertise, skills and the redundancy needed to run a 24/7 shop.” Alternatively, SaaS solutions are a fixed cost that help accurately forecast budgetary needs. Agencies no longer have to invest in expensive infrastructure requirements or specialized IT services.
Transitioning to the cloud through a SaaS model requires thorough planning. When done methodically and accurately, SaaS solutions simplify maintenance and support while also enhancing data synchrony with other justice applications. Offering a more practical and cost-effective model compared to self-deployed cloud solutions, SaaS solutions are tools to help provide better service to staff so they can better serve the public.