CA enters software-as-a-service market

CA has announced its entry into the software-as-a-service (SaaS) space with three on-demand products.

At its user event in Las Vegas this week, CA unveiled on-demand versions of its Clarity Project and Portfolio Manager (PPM), Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Manager and Instant Recovery tools, all available now.

Clarity PPM On Demand was introduced to customers in April, but has only been officially announced today at the CA World 08 show.

Jules Ehrlich, general manager of CA's new On Demand Business Unit, said that the key benefits of SaaS are simple and quick deployment, a compelling financial model and discreet upgrades.

"The pay-as-you-go model is ideal in the current climate, where firms haven't got the capital expenditure. You buy nothing with SaaS, there's no procurement or purchase orders. It's just there and operating within a day," he said.

"We can also offer continuous upgrades quietly and discreetly, and deliver these centrally rather than having to put it on a CD and send it out to customers."

Ehrlich added that the SaaS versions of CA's software have already proved popular with customers.

"In some deals we're only winning the business because it's SaaS," he explained. "For some customers it's mandatory. If it's not a core piece of technology such as a SAP, they go [to a SaaS provider]; then there's customers who have barely even heard of SaaS."

The Chicago Department of Health is an early adopter of Clarity PPM On Demand. Chief financial officer Carlo Govia said that governments are typically slow adopters of technology and do not like financing large-scale IT projects.

"SaaS works well as we can move the cost to an expense so it's easier to get it signed off," he said. "Clarity helps us with our grant management process. We'll be able to forecast how we use our resources more effectively so we can deliver more services in public health."

Instant Recovery On Demand is a SaaS version of CA's XOsoft technology, which is aimed at offering firms with 100 to 1,000 employees a way to replicate and back up their data. This product will only be available through resellers, and CA predicts huge growth in the space.

"The on-demand disaster recovery business will be worth $100m [£67m] within a year, and $250m [£167m] within two years," said Adam Famularo, general manager for the Recovery Management and Data Modeling Business Unit at CA. "This is on top of our existing XOsoft business today aimed at large enterprises."

Pricing for Clarity PPM On Demand is from $18 per user, depending on the number of users and length of contract. "This could go up to $100 per user; the longer you sign up the better deal you get," Ehrlich said. "For GRC Manager On Demand it's $500 per user, as it's not a large-user model. With Clarity firms can have anywhere between 50 and 50,000 users."

Famularo said that Instant Recovery On Demand starts at $400 per server per month on a three-year deal, and goes up to $800 per month for one server on a one-year deal.