✏️Evaluation Guide

This guide helps government IT teams and decision makers evaluate whether FormSG is the right forms solution for your organization.

Proven Success at Scale

FormSG has processed 200+ million government form submissions across 160+ agencies in Singapore since 2017.

International Adoptions

Government teams worldwide have successfully forked and deployed FormSG for their local contexts:

• 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka - FormLK

• 🇰🇭 Cambodia - FormKH

• 🇻🇳 Vietnam - FormVN

These implementations demonstrate FormSG's adaptability across different government contexts and technical environments.

View detailed metrics and reports →

Why Self-Host FormSG?

Core Benefits

• Data Sovereignty: Keep citizen data within your jurisdiction

• No Vendor Lock-in: Modify and extend without vendor negotiations

• Unlimited Scaling: No per-form or per-submission fees

• Full Customization: Integrate with any government system

• Cost Control: Eliminate recurring license fees

Understanding What You're Evaluating

Before deciding whether FormSG fits your needs, understand its architecture and dependencies:

The colour coding shows which components are easier (🟢) or harder (🔴) to replace with your preferred alternatives.

Is FormSG Right for Your Organization?

✅ Good fit if you have

• High form volume (100+ forms or 1000+ submissions monthly)

• Data sovereignty requirements

• Technical team or ability to hire contractors

• Current form solution costing >$50k/year

• Need for customization and integration

❌ May not fit if you need

• Vendor support with SLAs

• Immediate deployment (<1 month)

• Solution for <10 forms total

• No technical capabilities available

• Turnkey solution with zero maintenance

Technical Requirements

Skills Your Team Needs

Your team should collectively have experience with:

• Linux server administration

• Docker/container orchestration

• Environment variables and secrets management

• Node.js applications

• Basic web application security

Team size flexibility: These skills can be distributed across your team. A single full-stack developer can learn what's needed, or you can split responsibilities across specialists.

Many teams successfully learn as they implement.

Cost-Benefit Considerations

Initial Investment:

• Setup effort: Varies by deployment type (see options below)

• Infrastructure costs: Scale with usage, redundancy, and security needs

• Timeline: From days for proof-of-concept to months for production

Ongoing Investment:

• Regular maintenance: Updates, monitoring, and support

• Infrastructure costs: Monthly cloud/hosting expenses

• Team allocation: Depends on scale and customization needs

Typical Benefits:

• Eliminate licensing fees: No per-form or per-submission charges

• Avoid vendor lock-in: No contract negotiations or surprise price increases

• Full control: Customise features and integrations as needed

• Data sovereignty: Complete ownership of citizen data within your infrastructure

• Unlimited scaling: Add forms and users without additional licensing

Cost comparison tip: Calculate your current annual spend on form solutions (licenses, support, customisation fees) to assess potential savings.

Deployment Options Overview

Container Deployment on VMs	Effort: Low Timeline: A few days Customisation: Minimal (environment variables only) Best for: Pilot projects, proof-of-concept, small team evaluation
Standard AWS Deployment	Effort: Low-Medium Timeline: 1-2 weeks Customisation: Minimal required Best for: Teams wanting to get started quickly
Multi-Cloud Deployment	Effort: Medium-High Timeline: 2-4 weeks Customisation: Component replacement required Best for: Teams with existing cloud investments
On-Premises Deployment	Effort: High Timeline: 4-8 weeks Customisation: Extensive infrastructure work Best for: Air-gapped or highly regulated environments
Hybrid Government Cloud	Effort: Medium-High Timeline: 6-10 weeks Customisation: Government-specific integrations Best for: Teams with existing government cloud infrastructure

Decision Points and Next Steps

If Proceeding with FormSG:

1. Start Small: Set up local development environment

2. Plan Deployment: Review basic deployment guide

3. Identify Customisations: Assess component customisation needs

4. Prepare Team: Train staff on required technologies

If Uncertain:

1. Proof of Concept: Deploy locally and test with sample forms

2. Technical Assessment: Review your team's capabilities against requirements

3. Vendor Comparison: Evaluate commercial alternatives side-by-side

4. Pilot Project: Start with non-critical forms to reduce risk

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Key Takeaway: FormSG is a powerful, flexible government forms platform that requires technical investment but provides complete control and customisation. Success depends on having the right skills, resources, and commitment to the implementation journey.