Cloud CCM platforms: SaaS, hosted, customer-cloud and on-premises compared

A cloud CCM platform runs your customer communications software somewhere other than your own data center. But “cloud” can mean a shared SaaS service, a private instance the vendor runs for you, or containers you run in your own cloud account. Each one puts very different work on your team.

The shift is well under way. An Aspire analyst reported that over half of new CCM projects in 2022 chose SaaS, and Aspire found only 20% of businesses prefer to keep all customer communications on-premises. This guide shows which vendors offer which model and how to choose.

Pick by your situation

Short on time? Start here.

• Want no infrastructure at all? Compare Quadient Inspire Evolve, Messagepoint and Precisely RapidCX.
• Need some of it on your own servers or cloud? Start with Quadient Inspire Flex, OpenText Exstream and ISIS Papyrus.
• Mostly worried about where archived documents live? Precisely says EngageOne Vault can run in your own AWS account.
• On SmartCOMM and need to self-host? It’s listed as cloud only, so see SmartCOMM vs Quadient Inspire and SmartCOMM vs OpenText Exstream.

The four ways to run CCM

The real question is who runs the software and who decides when it gets upgraded. Aspire, which runs the main CCM leaderboard, splits the market into vendor-hosted SaaS and “AnyPrem” software you can run anywhere. In practice you’re choosing between four models.

You can also mix them. A common setup keeps authoring in the vendor’s cloud while composition, production or the archive runs in your environment, so customer data stays inside your walls.

Which vendors offer which model

Some vendors sell one model. Others sell the same product several ways. Pick the models you need to filter the list.

The takeaway: SmartCOMM is the only major platform listed as SaaS only. Quadient Inspire and OpenText Exstream have the clearest evidence for both vendor-run and self-run setups, which helps if different parts of your business have different hosting rules. ISIS Papyrus is the strongest fit when you must run it yourself.

What regulated teams should check

For banks, insurers, health plans and government, the right model comes down to rules, operations and staffing more than technology. Sort these out before you watch demos.

• Where data lives. Decide where customer data may sit, including test environments and archives. Ask which regions host production, backups and support access. See CCM for government and CCM for healthcare payers.
• Security proof. Ask for current SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 reports, pen test summaries and, for health data, HIPAA terms. Check that each certificate covers the modules you’re buying.
• Upgrade control. Shared SaaS upgrades everyone on the vendor’s schedule. TrustRadius reviewers list frequent upgrades among SmartCOMM’s drawbacks. Self-hosting gives you control, but Gartner reviewers call Exstream on-premises upgrades time-consuming. Ask for release notice periods and a sandbox that gets updates first.
• Reliability at peak. Statement and notice runs have hard deadlines. Get recovery objectives in writing and run your peak batch in the target setup during the proof of concept.
• The move itself. Going from on-premises to cloud is a real project. Gartner reviewers describe moving to Exstream’s cloud version as complex. Our CCM migration guide and CCM migration tools cover the steps.

How hosting changes the price

SaaS and on-premises are priced differently. According to Vendr’s Quadient page, cloud deals usually price per user or by transaction volume on annual subscriptions. On-premises maintenance typically runs 18 to 22% of the license value each year.

Self-hosting also brings server and staff costs that never show up on a quote. Our CCM software pricing guide has an estimator.

For every platform side by side, see the CCM software guide, or the best CCM software picks by situation.