An Enviable Interface

In terms of usability, KnowledgeTreeLive was on par with the self-hosted version, though unique to it is the integration with the Zoho Office Suite. What they both include is Microsoft Office support, and the main dashboard provides a useful, high-level overview of the system. The dashboard was made up of AJAX-y dashlets that can be added, removed and reordered in a drag-and-drop interface.

Overall, the other vendor most comparable to this level of ease is Alfresco, which operates on a similar open source model.

Bigger Up-front Cost is a Killer

It's functionality might be superb, but there is something strange about KnowledgeTreeLive: it's more expensive.

According to the company's price list on-premise version of Knowledge Tree has an annual fee of $2,400 for a 20-user license at the basic level. The most basic SaaS version is $2,950 for 10 users, and is limited to 50 GB of storage.

For big enterprise, the lowered cost of IT would make up for the greater up-front subscription fee. But in a phone conversation, a Knowledge Tree spokesperson told ReadWriteWeb that the majority of those interested in the SaaS version were SMBs without strict compliance needs.

For those companies, self-hosting the community edition could end up being both cheaper and more attuned to their needs. With lower costs being a primary driver of SaaS adoption overall, the relatively hefty subscription price could drive off the very customers that Knowledge Tree says are its core users for this edition.