The biggest disadvantage of SaaS companies is the infrastructure that houses the applications members pay to use. Due to the high cost of construction, maintenance, and the massive energy supply required to run large networks of computers, many SaaS businesses outsource this need to supplier data centres. This means the SaaS provider does not actually control the hardware that hosts the software they sell – leaving the SaaS company vulnerable to outages they cannot fix, scalability issues, and the financial strengths or weaknesses of the data centre. Key issues of SaaS include:   Downtime: If the data centre has a problem, then the SaaS company has a problem – which means their members have a problem that can easily cascade. Pricing: SaaS businesses must pass on costs through subscription fees. Users may find it hard or impossible to step out of a long-term contract even if their fees are rising fast. Inflexibility: Users who wish to downsize their membership may find they cannot do so until a lengthy notice period has passed. Security: Third party data centres are housing user data. Security effectiveness can vary wildly, with the potential to expose the SaaS company and their users to data breaches and loss. Financial strength: SaaS applications are only as strong as the SaaS company managing them. If they become insolvent, the application may cease to operate, leaving users without an alternative or access to their most important information.