Email archiving - SaaS strengths vs on-premise solutions
Executive Overview
Email archiving can be implemented by subscribing to a hosted service—commonly called “software as a service” (SaaS)—or by licensing software and installing it in-house (on-premise).
This Ferris Research white paper explains the main strengths of the SaaS approach over that of the on-premise approach. To ensure balance, potential customers should also consider on-premise strengths that may apply in their environment.
SaaS Solutions
To access a SaaS application, you connect your email system to a hosted software service provider over the Internet. As with an on-premise solution, SaaS email archiving typically features search through the archive, retention policy definition and implementation,e-discovery production, and so on.
Examples of SaaS vendors are Dell Computer’s MessageOne, Global Relay, Google’s Postini, Iron Mountain, LiveOffice, Microsoft Exchange Hosted Services, Mimecast, Proofpoint’s Fortiva, and Symantec’s MessageLabs.
Software On-Premise Solutions
The most common approach is to install a software package on your organization’s Windows PC hardware. Vendors with this type of solution include Autonomy (Zantaz), AXS-One, EMC (Legato), IBM (CommonStore), Intradyn, Mimosa, Quest, Symantec (Enterprise Vault), and Waterford.
Appliances
Another type of on-premise solution is an appliance with preinstalled software. Appliances have points in common with both on-site and SaaS systems, and we do not include them in this software vs. service discussion.
In the following pages, we compare SaaS and on-site software approaches, including ease of installation, system maintenance, and costs.