SaaS Agreements Ultimate Guide; Side by Side Comparison of Vendor vs. Customer Preferred Terms in a Software as a Service Contract (Top 15 Issues)

SaaS (Software as a Service) subscription arrangements are incredibly common these days. As hosting costs have come down and hosting reliability and stability have gone up, choosing a SaaS model over traditional modes of software delivery, such as downloadable or “on premise” software, is simply a smart business decision.

For vendors, SaaS offers greater protection of their intellectual property (the customer never gets access to the software and source code), as well as more insight and control over how it is being used and an agile development process (with constant updating and improving capabilities). Customers prefer subscription services for their ease of use, efficiency, cost effectiveness, and faster and easier implementation. In some situations, implementation is as easy as logging in, rather than downloading, installing, integrating, etc.

And with continued innovation in areas such as AI-powered applications and 5G edge computing capability, SaaS solutions will undoubtedly continue gaining popularity among tech-oriented businesses. With this in mind, business teams on both sides of a SaaS arrangement may wish to sharpen their understanding of the key legal issues associated with a subscription services agreement, particularly if they are to play any role in their company’s review or negotiation of a such deals.?

The below comparison chart summarizes the top 15 legal issues in SaaS agreements from the perspectives of both vendors and customers. Additional insights for certain topics are provided in “read more” links.

For a bigger, easier to read, web based version of this chart, go to https://www.outsidegc.com/blog/top-15-legal-issues-in-a-saas-agreement

For a downloadable, PDF version of this chart, go to: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/briheller_ultimate-guide-to-saas-agreements-brian-activity-7199775561890549760-HyeJ

If you would like assistance with a SaaS agreement or other commercial contract, please reach out to Brian Heller at?[email protected].

Brian Heller?is a Member of Outside GC’s Washington D.C.-based team, and is an experienced technology and deal attorney, specializing in SaaS licensing, digital and social media, online advertising, mobile apps, cloud services, terms of use, data use and protection, content licensing and other technology deals. Brian has represented both vendors and customers and uses this experience to present reasonable positions on behalf of his clients. Brian can be reached at?[email protected].

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