Why it's Important to Ask the Right Questions when Selecting a SaaS Provider

A good friend of mine is making a large investment in a new business and a software selection they will be married to that will be a big part of the business. He asked me for advice on what questions he should ask the potential vendors before they make their final decision. We came up with a list of questions related to the SaaS service and their business. His last question was the most interesting. "Why should we ask them all of these questions?". That is a good question. Why should you do your homework on reliability, number of instances, uptime, references, and other non-function related questions.

First, all of the other smart people, and we are in that group, right?, ask the same questions. Your validating how successful the SaaS company has been with their platform, how reliable it is, and what type of service you can expect.

You are speaking in big numbers, so, its not top secret info.  Don't be afraid to ask the hard questions. They should know, how many clients they have, what their uptime is, who their best references are, and what clients they have lost and why.

Your doing your homework if your going to buy and host with them.  If your software goes down you have the potential to lose big bucks.

Questions like these and others help prevent that from happening.  Ask away, and get the honest answers! Your business is worth it!