Using Remote Desktop to bring a 3rd party application to all my employees

Question

Recently I have been approached by various SaaS (Software as a service) providers offering me different scenarios to deliver their solutions.

One in particular has my 50 employees accessing the software via a remote desktop connection 100% of the time. Keep in mind that the software is the main tool our employees will use 8 hours per day. It handles CRM (Customer Relationship Management), Operations, AR and even payroll...

What are the risks?

Answer 1

With Remote Desktop, the application is not actually running on your computers, but on theirs. Your data is there. This implies a lot of things, including:

• In case of loss of network connectivity, business stops.
• If the SaaS provider ceases activity, you lose your tools and your data.
• Any disaster (flood, fire...) affecting the server centre of the SaaS provider will impact you dearly.
• All security decisions with regards to your information assets will be taken by the SaaS provider.
• If you handle data classified as "personal information" then compliance to applicable regulations depends on what the SaaS provider does.
• If your network connectivity is not top notch, especially with a low latency, then your 50 employees will hate the Remote Desktop immensely.

On the other hand:

• Disaster on your site won't harm your data.
• You might benefit from the infrastructures of the provider; e.g., the provider may offer an efficient and comprehensive backup solution for your data.
• You may relocate more easily your premises, and employees may possibly telecommute.

Globally, going SaaS to that level is like marrying a polygamous man: you trust the provider exclusively with your business, but you know that the provider has some interests elsewhere as well.

Answer 2

Pros:

1. Cost savings - expense of installing, maintaining and upgrading on-premises can be solved.
2. Scalability - As your business grows and you need to add more users, rather than investing in additional in-house server capacity and software licences you can adjust your monthly SaaS subscription as required.
3. Accessibility- A browser and an internet connection is all that's usually required
4. Upgrade-ability : You don't have to worry about hardware/software updates, your service provider takes care of it.
5. Resilience : Ready back Up in case of any data loss due to unexpected harms.
6. Security : Anti-malware scanning,Web filtering and monitoring,Firewalling/intrusion prevention,Secure remote access,Insider threat mitigation are taken care.

Cons:

1. Security : The number-one concern for businesses considering SaaS is often security and privacy: if sensitive company data and business processes are to be entrusted to a third-party service provider, then issues such as identity and access management — particularly from mobile devices — need to be addressed.
2. Compliance : When your business data resides in a service provider's datacenter, ensuring that you comply with the relevant government data-protection regulations can be a problem.
3. Performance : A browser-based application hosted in a remote datacenter and accessed via an internet connection is likely to cause worries about performance when compared to software running on a local machine or over the company LAN.
4. Even a small disruption in the internet connection is a guaranteed loss of production.
5. You have no longer have direct access to control the versions of software/hardware used, the security of your data.