The demand for software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications is growing rapidly. With remote work on the rise since the Covid pandemic, SaaS applications enable businesses to improve accessibility and cost-effectiveness. However, as more companies move from traditional approaches to SaaS-based offerings, SaaS vendors have more control over the enterprise’s source code and data – which is good because they will provide security, faster Updates etc – but what happens to your IT services if your SaaS provider goes out of business? This is where a SaaS hosting agreement can help.
What is a SaaS hosting agreement?
A SaaS hosting agreement is the process of maintaining a copy of critical SaaS application data with a SaaS hosting provider. Similar to source code hosting, where critical software source code is stored by an independent third party, SaaS hosting applies the same logic to the entire cloud environment, including data hosted in SaaS applications. It allows companies to protect their data residing in third-party hosted SaaS applications, preventing data loss.
There are many reasons to consider a SaaS hosting agreement, including concerns about vendor bankruptcy, ransomware attacks, unplanned service interruptions, and potential data loss or corruption.
The most popular SaaS hosting solutions include:
- Replicated SaaS continuity with 90-day real-time availability – This provides a replicated cloud environment that contains a database using deployment templates that can be activated on release. If released, the SaaS hosting provider will be on call and provide up to 90 days of service continuity.
- SaaS environment hosting – This includes storage of cloud environments, which may include automated storage of containers, deployment scripts, templates, databases, and source code storage from Git repositories, including related documentation.
- SaaS access continuity – The solution includes depositing the developer’s access credentials into the cloud hosting provider’s production account. Solutions include the transfer of access credentials to beneficiaries and the possibility of the SaaS hosting provider maintaining the production environment for 90 days to ensure continuity of events post-launch.
SaaS Continuity Hosting Benefits
Over the years, SaaS hosting providers like Escrow London have adapted themselves to improve the overall customer experience and turn SaaS hosting into a painless process. Below are just some of the benefits for companies investing in a SaaS hosting agreement.
- Business Continuity Satisfaction – If your key SaaS provider goes out of business and you lose access to your data, it could be catastrophic for your business. The cost of SaaS hosting is often a small fraction of the total cost of a technology investment. Investing in a SaaS managed solution will ensure business continuity and mitigate the risks associated with modern cloud service delivery methods and the growing responsibilities of service providers.
- Provide accurate and up-to-date data— A SaaS hosting agreement is only valuable if the data and deposit materials are current and accurate. Investing can introduce automatic deposits in all agreements as a standard SaaS hosting provider will bring additional benefits to your business. Knowing that they have secure and regular backups of your data, which can be released to you if needed, will keep your business operations running.
- Verification Test – As mentioned above, investments can introduce automatic deposits as standard SaaS hosting providers will provide additional benefits. In addition to this, the validation tests provided by the SaaS hosting provider can ensure the deployability and operability of the system, giving your business even more advantages.