The software market for nonprofits, NPOs, faith-based organizations, and arch/dioceses is a crowded place. There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing the right solution.

Pricing

SaaS and cloud-based software have no need for a physical distributor, so this model allows organizations to license the software directly from the company that makes the software. This reduces the up-front costs since most SaaS solutions are licensed on a monthly or annual basis.

This model works great for smaller organizations or businesses who want an “out of the box” product with standard features and functionality. It also eliminates hardware costs and other headaches of maintaining your own infrastructure like data servers.

A perpetual licensed software generally requires a larger up-front investment. This is typically categorized as a capital expenditure whereas SaaS is an operating expenditure. Depending on how your organization priorities expenses, one option may be more agreeable to your stakeholders than the other.

One thing to keep in mind in mind is that the total cost of ownership for software generally converges over time according to Software Advice.

Pricing may also vary based on number of users or “seats”, so be sure to factor that into your considerations. If there’s a per-user cost and you have two users, that’s much different than paying a per-user fee for thousands of users.

Implementation

SaaS and cloud-based deployment usually only require an internet connection and a device that meets the minimum hardware requirements needed for the software. They don’t require acquisition of new hardware or any physical set up. This makes implementation quicker and easier. It also makes onboarding new users quick and easy and can reduce time internal staff has to train new employees.

A perpetual license requires more investment for the initial cost and often also requires physical set-up, especially if it’s being added to your own servers (on-prem). Onboarding a new user may require the user to install the program manually and may limit the number of devices the software can be accessed on.

Updates

In addition to initial deployment, updates and new features vary between the pricing models. Most SaaS providers offer a single version of the application to all customers. This means that new features and critical updates are pushed to every user at the same time. With a perpetual license, updated versions may not be included, or you may end up with multiple versions of the same software within different users at your organization.

This means that SaaS software is usually updated more frequently on a weekly or monthly basis. For some organizations this is ideal. An organization, especially those that require specialized features or processes within the application, may prefer a perpetually licensed program as they can choose when and if they update to a new version.

Support

Support options vary greatly within each software model. SaaS doesn’t readily support older versions of the software indefinitely, so at some point all users must upgrade to the newest version. If your organization chooses a perpetual model, you get to choose when to implement the most updated version of the software, but some companies stop providing support for older versions, so keep that in mind when looking at the terms of service.

Usually using the newest version of the software is a good thing as it normally comes with new or improved features and increased functionality. It also ensures that all users are using the right version and it eliminates the need for database tracking and storage.

Both SaaS and perpetually licensed software may have recurring fees for support, training, and updates. Other providers may offer support packages as needed. This can help reduce the overall cost if you need a lot of support for the implementation of the software, but your team can maintain it internally after that.

For SaaS solutions, the relatively low cost per user allows some software vendors to offer a “freemium” version of their software. This is generally a scaled back version of the core features. However, it may not come with access to live support and other helpful resources and may have fees for payment processing or other transactions.

Specialization

SaaS software includes one set of features and functionality. This means you can choose a solution that is specifically tailored to your industry or required functionality. This means you can find a solution that only has the features you want, and not pay for extras you won’t use.

Perpetually licensed software might be custom-made to meet very specific needs of an industry or even an individual customer. This is applicable especially to those operating in niche industries and markets or organizations that require a highly specialized product that has customizable features.

Customization

As with specialization, there are limitations on how much most SaaS solutions can be customized. Most SaaS platforms are sold “out-of-the-box” but do offer options for each user to create custom dashboards and modify specific things like data fields. Users can often customize client-facing pages their logo, brand colors and custom content. That’s generally where the customization ends.

For front-facing content, things like webpage layout, custom web design features, and actual product functionality you may prefer a customized version of a SaaS product or perpetually licensed software. In addition to custom UI and UX design, certain types of software may need to be compatible with the software, hardware, or operating systems the organization is currently using.

Collaboration

SaaS and cloud-based software allows for easier file sharing, document collaboration, shared calendars, and sharing of customer data between employees as most of it is hosted in the cloud. This means employees can access the software regardless of their specific location or the device they’re using. As many offices are embracing telecommuting and digital meeting platforms, remote collaboration has become more essential.

A perpetually licensed software may have a limited number of computers it can be activated on and require saving of databases that must be saved on internal servers. This poses a problem if two employees need to use the same software at the same time. It requires careful handling of database files and it’s very easy to save over someone else’s work since it’s not synced to the cloud.