Organizations are increasingly choosing SaaS to deploy software. It makes sense. Consider that it is typically installed faster, is a non-capital expenditure with predictable costs, and it requires no additional IT resources to manage. The popularity and growing acceptance of SaaS was proven after Hyland Software opened a European data center in the U.K. in July 2009. Today, the company is managing the processes and data of approximately 100 customers in this one location. To meet the growing international demand for OnBase OnLine, the SaaS-version of the document management software suite, OnBase, Hyland opened a new data center in Australia in late August 2010.

"Interest in SaaS is perhaps greatest outside of the U.S.," said Ron McClellan, director of OnBase OnLine and hosting services for Hyland Software. "Combine this with the fact that OnBase OnLine has a seven year track record of helping organizations of all sizes to be more successful, and there is a great demand for our product. Australia gives us five data centers worldwide covering three continents, Australia, Europe and North America."

More expansion is planned with the opening of a new data center in September 2010 in the Netherlands. In 2011, the company will add two more locations, one in Asia, the other in South America.

"Organizations in the market for on-premise ECM are often choosing to work with us specifically because we also offer a SaaS product," said McClellan. "This is because the right deployment method today may not be right tomorrow. So, if and when circumstances dictate a change, we offer customers the opportunity to switch from one method to the other. This type of flexibility, especially in the world of technology when things can and often do change so quickly, is increasingly important for organizations making software decisions."

The Australia data center has the capacity to serve organizations in Australia and New Zealand. Like Hyland's other data centers, it is redundant and secure with SAS 70-II certification.