There are approximately 25,000 SaaS companies operating in the world today, 17,000 of which are in the U.S. They serve an estimated 59 billion customers. SaaS (which stands for “software as a service”) offerings are as common in the 2022 workplace as copy machines were in 1980, with some of the most well-known including DocuSign, Adobe, Dropbox, and Salesforce.

Almost as common as the companies themselves are questions about the contractual implications of adopting SaaS tools. To help fill in the gaps, we have created a short list of issues that should be considered when implementing SaaS technology:

• Licensing: Though a service, the product you will be using is still software. Be sure that you are being provided a license to use it.
• Security: The SaaS provider should warrant that they are using commercially practicable security measures to protect against data breach and loss of data.
• Confidentiality: Allowing access to your systems necessarily means allowing access to confidential information. Make sure that proprietary information is protected.
• Availability: Software applications commonly experience downtime, and that is to be expected. But a remedy for significant failures or loss of service time should be created upfront.

If you would like assistance in reviewing and analyzing your SaaS agreements, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 248.477.6300. We’re here to help!