Why SaaS?

IDC, an industry research firm, defines Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) or on demand software as having the following characteristics:

Web-based access to and management of software sold on a subscription basis;
Software managed from a central data center;
Software used by multiple users through a Web browser; and,
Centralized product updates.

Gartner predicts that 25% of all software will be delivered on demand by 2011. IDC, meanwhile, estimates that the SaaS market will represent a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.2%, totaling $14.8 billion in revenue by 2011.

So why SaaS for clinical research?

Gartner Research says that companies can spend more than 75% of their IT budget on maintaining their traditional software infrastructure. Hidden personnel costs, such as help desk, deployment maintenance and 24x7 managed operations, are significant contributors to increased operational expenses.

Having front-end loaded IT investments represents a disproportionate expense per trial, particularly with high failure rates. Why invest $1.2 million upfront for an EDC solution to support a Phase III trial with a 45% failure rate? Why not identify the efficacy of the studied drug compound early and assess the merits of either continuing or discontinuing the use of your EDC solution?

That’s what SaaS enables you to do; It benefits clinical research, then, in the following ways:

Faster more cost-effective deployment times. All your organization needs is access to a Web browser;
SaaS can be an operational expense for R&D departments, either on a project or enterprise basis to better manage personnel and research costs;
Configurable design tools allow for greater customization of study designs and workflows;
A subscription pricing model allows you to assess whether to continue or discontinue using EDC based on a trial’s results; and,
The SaaS vendor is responsible for maintenance and security, enabling your IT department to focus on creating value through the innovative application of new technologies.