SaaS in the cloud – the 7 biggest cloud myths in the BSI fact check

Cloud software is standard today – and yet there are still reservations against SaaS solutions. In the following interview with Matthias Hobi and Bruno Köferli, cloud experts at BSI Software, we take a look at seven of the most common myths surrounding SaaS in the cloud – and clarify what is really true.

Matthias: “That’s not true. A modern SaaS solution can be implemented efficiently and operated effortlessly. Especially in comparison to traditional on-premises software, the proximity to the standard of the SaaS solution offers a number of advantages. The BSI Customer Suite, for instance, is an adaptive platform. For large companies, it is a clear efficiency gain because it is easy to configure and customize. The minimized programming effort, for example through configurable interfaces to peripheral systems, relieves the burden on IT departments considerably. Furthermore, updates are also easy to implement.”

Bruno: “Cloud-based platforms are subject to strict security standards – in some cases even stricter than traditional on-premises solutions. Our customers expect the highest levels of security, and that is exactly what we deliver: cryptographic keys such as BYOK (Bring Your Own Key), zero-trust concepts and regular audits. At BSI Software, the cloud service provider is chosen together with the customer – depending on preference, compliance requirements and technical strategy. In view of the current geopolitical situation, we are presently experiencing uncertainty that is not attributable to the cloud as a risk, but rather the cloud service provider. Companies fear for their data sovereignty with US providers. Here, too, we can reassure our customers, as the cloud service provider can easily be changed with the BSI Customer Suite.”

Matthias: “This used to be an issue – but not anymore. In modern SaaS environments, updates are automated and quality is guaranteed. Our customers decide for themselves if and when they want to activate new features. This way, control is maintained without slowing down the flow of innovation. The initial data migration is also possible without any problems: BSI has already successfully migrated more than 600 million data records within an extended weekend – without disturbing the customer’s ongoing operations.”

Bruno: “The opposite is true – and this is where we clearly stand out from our competitors. The high flexibility of our agnostic multi-cloud strategy is due to the fact that we decoupled the BSI Customer Suite from proprietary cloud provider services from the outset. This allows our customers not only to choose the cloud service provider underneath the software, but also to switch if necessary. A change of provider is not only possible, it is actively planned.”

Matthias: “A persistent myth. However, all companies benefit from SaaS solutions because they can scale faster, integrate innovations more easily and control operating costs better. Our projects show that SaaS also works for complex requirements on both a small and a large scale – whether in a corporate environment, in federal structures or in organizations with highly regulatory requirements.”

Bruno: “No, that’s a misunderstanding. Our customers retain full data sovereignty at all times. With the Enterprise Integration Platform (EIP) of the BSI Customer Suite, APIs and export functions are available for flexible access to the data. Cloud does not mean loss of control, but rather new possibilities – if it is implemented correctly.”

Matthias: “At the moment, we are often asked whether European providers can really keep up with the large US hyperscalers. The answer is that European cloud service providers can also easily meet the needs of the BSI Customer Suite. Our multi-cloud strategy is agnostic. We focus on our customers’ requirements – whether public cloud or private cloud. Many deliberately opt for European providers, for instance to strengthen their data sovereignty. What matters is that the platform fits the strategy – and that we, as a SaaS provider, have mastered the technical and organizational complexity.”