Ian Landsman

You came to us, you bought the licenses, you went to them, you paid the monthly hosting fee, but they would actually install HelpSpot and run it for you. And if there was a problem with the server, they'd fix it. So we had this sort of in-between. So that did let us delay. Then another sort of aspect to it is that HelpSpot was not in any way conceived as a SaaS.

You came to us, you bought the licenses, you went to them, you paid the monthly hosting fee, but they would actually install HelpSpot and run it for you. And if there was a problem with the server, they'd fix it. So we had this sort of in-between. So that did let us delay. Then another sort of aspect to it is that HelpSpot was not in any way conceived as a SaaS.

So like the data structures are not correct for SaaS and things like that. And so in that earlier phase of the SaaS rise, I think it would have been pretty tricky to do it. And what kind of happened later on is we had, then you have AWS, you have really cheap servers and things like that.

So like the data structures are not correct for SaaS and things like that. And so in that earlier phase of the SaaS rise, I think it would have been pretty tricky to do it. And what kind of happened later on is we had, then you have AWS, you have really cheap servers and things like that.

And so it made it simpler for us to make the move because how HubSpot SaaS version runs is actually everybody gets a tiny AWS like nano server and everybody's on their own server. We do have a centralized like big database, RDS database with like multi failover and all that stuff. But we basically deploy it as your own little help spot server.

And so it made it simpler for us to make the move because how HubSpot SaaS version runs is actually everybody gets a tiny AWS like nano server and everybody's on their own server. We do have a centralized like big database, RDS database with like multi failover and all that stuff. But we basically deploy it as your own little help spot server.

And so we don't have to make the database work for multi tenant and all these things. And the cost isn't outrageous because by that point, It was like, okay, two bucks a month, you can have a little mini server on AWS. And so that's the way we rolled it out. And this way we can kind of keep the code base the same for on-premise and cloud.

And so we don't have to make the database work for multi tenant and all these things. And the cost isn't outrageous because by that point, It was like, okay, two bucks a month, you can have a little mini server on AWS. And so that's the way we rolled it out. And this way we can kind of keep the code base the same for on-premise and cloud.

You know, and as we go, I think it's going to start to, we do already make a lot more accommodations for the cloud version since it's more of the new customers. But yeah, that was kind of like the transformation there basically.

You know, and as we go, I think it's going to start to, we do already make a lot more accommodations for the cloud version since it's more of the new customers. But yeah, that was kind of like the transformation there basically.

It's brutal. Very painful. I mean, because there's a lot involved. We had to switch. We moved to subscription pricing at that time. But I didn't want to force everybody's subscription pricing. And so it's like if you want to be on the cloud version, you have to move to subscription. And yeah, so that was big.

It's brutal. Very painful. I mean, because there's a lot involved. We had to switch. We moved to subscription pricing at that time. But I didn't want to force everybody's subscription pricing. And so it's like if you want to be on the cloud version, you have to move to subscription. And yeah, so that was big.

So even on-premise customers now, if you're a new on-premise customer, you're on subscription. Everybody's on subscription. And it is annual subscription, which is another thing I think founders don't think enough about. It's just only having – I've only ever had annual. And I think it's serving pretty well. We are going to experiment with the monthly option here soonish.

So even on-premise customers now, if you're a new on-premise customer, you're on subscription. Everybody's on subscription. And it is annual subscription, which is another thing I think founders don't think enough about. It's just only having – I've only ever had annual. And I think it's serving pretty well. We are going to experiment with the monthly option here soonish.

But, you know, again, if you're in the kind of business where it's like – often it's like literally a committee we're dealing with. And they're evaluating multiple choices. And they're not really going to switch off like on a whim after three months. Like they're making a commitment on their end. So not that big a deal. So – That was kind of a big one, the subscriptions, the tech.

But, you know, again, if you're in the kind of business where it's like – often it's like literally a committee we're dealing with. And they're evaluating multiple choices. And they're not really going to switch off like on a whim after three months. Like they're making a commitment on their end. So not that big a deal. So – That was kind of a big one, the subscriptions, the tech.

Yeah, there was, oh, the other thing is moving people. So we have all these existing customers and they want to move. And it's a big app. You can, you know, we have customers with 70 gigabyte databases. And so moving them onto the cloud is quite a production. We also allow a lot of customization. It's kind of one of HubSpot's differentiators from other solutions.

Yeah, there was, oh, the other thing is moving people. So we have all these existing customers and they want to move. And it's a big app. You can, you know, we have customers with 70 gigabyte databases. And so moving them onto the cloud is quite a production. We also allow a lot of customization. It's kind of one of HubSpot's differentiators from other solutions.

There's a lot of knobs and dials and things you can do. You can even write your own PHP in certain spots if you want to do something very custom, which is something that other helpdesk software won't let you customize on that deeper level, obviously, because there's no way for them to really safely do that. So we still to today, so we did that 10 years ago.

There's a lot of knobs and dials and things you can do. You can even write your own PHP in certain spots if you want to do something very custom, which is something that other helpdesk software won't let you customize on that deeper level, obviously, because there's no way for them to really safely do that. So we still to today, so we did that 10 years ago.