If it appears that the on-demand model might suit your needs, Ventana Research recommends that prospective adopters conduct their evaluation through the following steps.

• Determine whether your business is not achieving its full potential because of constraints in its current accounting system. Ask yourself if there are important capabilities that are missing (an automated order-to-cash process, for example, or revenue recognition management) that would have a strategic impact on your company.
• If you have concluded that your existing accounting software is holding your company back, create reliable estimates of the costs of SaaS vs. on-premises, both now and in the future. Don't stop with the immediate savings; rather, project the total lifecycle cost, including the ongoing costs of operating and managing an on-premises application.
• Inventory the in-house systems from which you need to access data. Assess how much flexibility you will need from a new application to work with these various sources and note any likely requirements for integration with existing applications and other customization.
• Verify that companies like yours are deriving benefit from the switch.
• Decide whether SaaS financials meet your requirements for security features and performance.
• Construct a list of vendors of SaaS financials that meet the requirements you have identified.
• Compare capabilities and costs for offered by those vendors.

On-demand financials do not suit every situation. But in today's business climate, where IT investments are scrutinized more closely than ever for features, interoperability with established systems and the demands they make on resources of both people and money, it is a true alternative that is worth serious consideration.