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This is why it's a really bad idea to rely on PaaS/SaaS for your next project. When the company tanks (or cancels the product, changes the API, raises it's pri

This is why it's a really bad idea to rely on PaaS/SaaS for your next project. When the company tanks (or cancels the product, changes the API, raises it's prices, etc.) you're screwed. Hope no one out there was heavily commited to FlockerHub. What we really need is better business models for supporting Open-Source.

gkoberger 10y ago
Counter argument: if you don't rely on PaaS/SaaS, it'll take you 3-4x to launch. So, rely on them, but be ready to switch. A few bad things like this shouldn't take away from how services enable rapid development and iteration of ideas.
- dsp1234 10y ago
  Try getting log files/historical data from a company that shuts it's doors without notice.
- jcoffland 10y ago
  Why would it take you 3-4x longer to launch? Running your own servers in the cloud is not that hard. You can actually save time by not being restricted by the PaaS. I.e. if you have special needs, and you will, you can go in and hack the software.
  - karthikb 10y ago
    If you don't have special needs, then you as a small team or company are taking on a burden that is large enough in scope for an entire company to focus on. It's why most startups just use GMail instead rolling their own. Sure it's easy to set up an email server, but now it's one more thing to think about.
    - jcoffland 10y ago
      GMail is a bad example. If GMail were to close you could just move to another email server. Besides, using a PaaS is not free and I don't mean in terms of money.
  - enraged_camel 10y ago
    >>Running your own servers in the cloud is not that hard For small side projects, sure. But if you run your own servers, that means you're also responsible for their configuration, backups, maintenance, upgrades, etc. That's why the "Dev Ops" people exist in many software companies. And they are not exactly cheap.
- Declanomous 10y ago
  >Be ready to switch. This why I include a weekly back up of our data from any of the PaaS/SaaS providers we use. Make sure you know exactly what is in the data you are backing up as well. You might find that data you really need isn't included in the backup/export files. There are a few sites where I have to take screen shots of configurations or rules to make sure I have all the data I need to switch over to a new process with minimal disruption. I trust other people, but I don't want to endanger my organization by inextricably tying it's survival to that of another organization.
athenot 10y ago
It's a bit unfair to make absolute statements like that. As with everything else, there's a risk calculation involved. If the PaaS/SaaS company delivers a substantial improvement over the existing solutions, the risk may very well be worth it. Conversely, if you're replacing a tried-and-true solution with something shiny just because it happens to have a lot of buzz around it, well that can be a risk miscalculation. (Of course, the shiny new thing may be worthwhile because it attracts a certain class of talent, but shiny for the sake of shiny is not going to yield much good.) That's why larger clients sometimes invest in a startup, to help ensure some stability by having better access to the internals. (Yet, I've seen that fail too: some startups outright lie to their investors, and that ends just the same way as you'd expect.)
wlamartin 10y ago
Choosing something like Cloud Foundry should help abate those fears. Backed by a foundation with some big companies donating engineering effort and providing hosted and on-premise offerings. Disclaimer: Work for Pivotal who donate the majority of the engineering effort to Cloud Foundry.
mathattack 10y ago
The nice thing about a SaaS company is once they get big enough, they're very stable because of their recurring revenue. (Salesforce isn't in danger of going out of business) They also can't ignore you like many big enterprise vendors, because you can turn them off on shorter notice. They have to rewin your business every year. It's just a little trickier with SaaS startups who haven't cleared the hurdle of their fixed costs yet.
lacampbell 10y ago
SaaS are not new. I used to work for one here that has been going since 1998. Though as someone who would like to found a SaaS one day, I wonder what I can do to prevent potential customers seeing me as unreliable. Stories like this do not help.

gkoberger 10y ago

Counter argument: if you don't rely on PaaS/SaaS, it'll take you 3-4x to launch. So, rely on them, but be ready to switch. A few bad things like this shouldn't take away from how services enable rapid development and iteration of ideas.

dsp1234 10y ago
Try getting log files/historical data from a company that shuts it's doors without notice.
jcoffland 10y ago
Why would it take you 3-4x longer to launch? Running your own servers in the cloud is not that hard. You can actually save time by not being restricted by the PaaS. I.e. if you have special needs, and you will, you can go in and hack the software.
- karthikb 10y ago
  If you don't have special needs, then you as a small team or company are taking on a burden that is large enough in scope for an entire company to focus on. It's why most startups just use GMail instead rolling their own. Sure it's easy to set up an email server, but now it's one more thing to think about.
  - jcoffland 10y ago
    GMail is a bad example. If GMail were to close you could just move to another email server. Besides, using a PaaS is not free and I don't mean in terms of money.
- enraged_camel 10y ago
  >>Running your own servers in the cloud is not that hard For small side projects, sure. But if you run your own servers, that means you're also responsible for their configuration, backups, maintenance, upgrades, etc. That's why the "Dev Ops" people exist in many software companies. And they are not exactly cheap.
Declanomous 10y ago
>Be ready to switch. This why I include a weekly back up of our data from any of the PaaS/SaaS providers we use. Make sure you know exactly what is in the data you are backing up as well. You might find that data you really need isn't included in the backup/export files. There are a few sites where I have to take screen shots of configurations or rules to make sure I have all the data I need to switch over to a new process with minimal disruption. I trust other people, but I don't want to endanger my organization by inextricably tying it's survival to that of another organization.

athenot 10y ago

It's a bit unfair to make absolute statements like that. As with everything else, there's a risk calculation involved. If the PaaS/SaaS company delivers a substantial improvement over the existing solutions, the risk may very well be worth it. Conversely, if you're replacing a tried-and-true solution with something shiny just because it happens to have a lot of buzz around it, well that can be a risk miscalculation. (Of course, the shiny new thing may be worthwhile because it attracts a certain class of talent, but shiny for the sake of shiny is not going to yield much good.) That's why larger clients sometimes invest in a startup, to help ensure some stability by having better access to the internals. (Yet, I've seen that fail too: some startups outright lie to their investors, and that ends just the same way as you'd expect.)

wlamartin 10y ago

Choosing something like Cloud Foundry should help abate those fears. Backed by a foundation with some big companies donating engineering effort and providing hosted and on-premise offerings. Disclaimer: Work for Pivotal who donate the majority of the engineering effort to Cloud Foundry.

mathattack 10y ago

The nice thing about a SaaS company is once they get big enough, they're very stable because of their recurring revenue. (Salesforce isn't in danger of going out of business) They also can't ignore you like many big enterprise vendors, because you can turn them off on shorter notice. They have to rewin your business every year. It's just a little trickier with SaaS startups who haven't cleared the hurdle of their fixed costs yet.

lacampbell 10y ago

SaaS are not new. I used to work for one here that has been going since 1998. Though as someone who would like to found a SaaS one day, I wonder what I can do to prevent potential customers seeing me as unreliable. Stories like this do not help.