How SaaS is Like Poker: It’s all about Managing Risk

Posted by Sean on April 5, 2010

As an amateur student of the game of poker, I have learned that playing poker is about managing risk.  No poker hand is guaranteed to win, and it’s all about the odds.  Some hands are much more likely to win, while some are more likely to lose.  Therefore, you need to commit your resources (chips) carefully, optimizing for the first type of hand.  Also, there are techniques players use to limit the number of resources they risk upfront in order to keep playing and hope for a better hand in the end.

Business is also about managing risk, and those on the IT side of the house know this well.  IT is always trying to provide the greatest capability while minimizing risk.  Software-as-a-Service solutions from proven cloud vendors can help with this. And it’s no wonder many companies are turning to SaaS in order to deliver the latest technology, improve productivity and reduce costs as well as manage risk. 

For one, a SaaS solution is more likely to “win”.  You don’t have to heavily invest in hardware and software to launch the product, thereby minimizing your upfront resources, and this allows you to start small and grow when you’re ready.   Also, it’s becoming easier to find proven SaaS solutions as the consumption model gains acceptance, meaning the solution is already being used by hundreds or thousands of companies.  You also minimize risk by leveraging the SaaS vendor’s infrastructure and technology expertise. You can bet that a SaaS technology company is building a state-of-the-art data center with the latest security and compliance, because it needs to ensure reliability and security to win and keep customers. This is the vendor’s core competency, and you benefit from it.

So, next time you are tasked with making a bet on a new solution, give SaaS a try before you lay down all your money on an on-premise hardware or software solution.  Chances are, you will be minimizing your risk and gaining a bigger and faster return on your investment.

Tags: Cloud Computing, Cloud Security, Poker, SaaS

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