Hosted and On-Premise Solutions

For many companies, having software applications hosted by a trusted partner is an attractive alternative to installing and managing new applications.   NeoSystems offers all of our solutions on either iTrak or Microsoft Dynamics CRM as either ‘On-Premise’ or ‘Hosted.

On-Premise software follows the traditional model of installing the software to a company’s server hardware.  Users then access the applications through the local network.  Companies often feel more secure about having the software on their site and taking responsibility for it.

Alternatively, the applications can be hosted and run on server hardware that is managed by NeoSystems – this is sometimes referred to as ‘Software as a Service’.  Users access the application over an Internet connection.  This allows companies to forego the added IT related costs of applications, focus on their core business, and allow their solutions partner to maintain the application for them.

An additional element of hosting is that hosting costs are often considered an operating expense; therefore companies do not need justify capital expenditure to move their important business projects forward. 

The difference can be summed up as the difference between buying software and renting it.  The critical factor for companies to assess in making a decision of going hosted versus on-premise, is to fully understand the total cost of ownership (TCO) of both scenarios.  In an on-premise scenario customers buy licenses based on the size of the implementation and then pay an annual maintenance fee to receive unlimited free support and to qualify for on-going upgrades.   Hosting services are invoiced monthly based on the number of users set up in the application – no licences or maintenance is required to be paid.

In assessing TCO, hosting services are much simpler to work out – it is simply the monthly price per month.  Calculating TCO for on-premise deployments requires a need to not only understand the licensing and maintenance costs, but also the costs of the hardware infrastructure, third-party software, and IT personnel required to maintain it.