Software as a Service

The fundamentals of Software as a Service (“SaaS”) revolve around:

• Increasing access to faster and faster high speed internet via free browser software
• The overwhelming and increasing number of software vendors who are now releasing their software in “cloud” form
• The subscription model of these SaaS offerings removing the heavy initial investment and making it feasible for customers to chop and change their software vendors more easily
• The increasing interconnectedness of SaaS offerings allow users to custom-mix a complete solution using beset of breed cloud based components

Nonetheless, network based solutions represent hugely more installed sites and for many businesses, these network solutions continue to make sense. SaaS is not yet for everyone and it is important not to just pile on the SaaS bandwagon.

Security is the most commonly quoted flag raised against SaaS – in reality, we think it is more likely that your office will burn down taking your software (and the backups you have stored in the filing cabinet) with it. A more likely negative is that your business is of a scale or maturity that does not fit well with the SaaS model. For instance a startup with one employee and no IT support is going to benefit hugely by having no server room and the opportunity to test out a few systems without committing too heavily while the business model develops.

A business that has a lot of remote users may benefit from a SaaS solution that allows all users instant access to central data – assuming they have reliable, fast internet access. Whilst there are exceptions, SaaS vendors are typically focussed on a relatively niche aspect of a businesses operations – to form an integrated business management system you may need to connect up several different components which can be expensive and challenging.

The key is, go into with your eyes open – or better yet, call us and we can help you!