FaceTime's Socialite SaaS Controls Social Media: Page 2 of 2

Other financial service associations that have issued similar guidelines for the use of social media are the National Futures Association and the UK's Financial Services Authority, says Sarah Carter, chief strategy officer and vice president of marketing for Facetime. The purpose is to ensure that consumers are not misled, that brokers aren't recommending stocks outside of guidelines, and that records are retained, bringing to the social networking world the same control that the printed world has had, she adds.

The advantage of FaceTime's hybrid approach, offering both SaaS and an on-premises version, is that it offers a cheaper implementation for employees working in the office but also extends to mobile employees, such as those working from home. "It's important for companies that are very distributed, and a nice advantage that a lot of vendors don't offer," says Michael Osterman, president and cofounder of Osterman Research Inc.

The SaaS version costs $12 per user per month for 100 users. On premises, with a 1u Linux hardware or virtualized appliance, the product costs $5,000 per 100 users. Despite what FaceTime describes as multiple suggestions from analysts, the company is not planning a small office/home office version at this time.