Top Ten Reasons to Leverage SaaS for Your Business

Are you thinking about making the switch from on-premise solutions to SaaS in 2016?

There’s a long list of reasons to make the switch to SaaS from on-premise solutions, but there are a few reasons that stand out most. We’ve compiled a list of our top ten ways SaaS can improve your business and save costs over traditional on-premise solutions, but first, we’re going to answer a couple questions you might have.

What is SaaS?  Who uses it?

SaaS, or Software-as-a-Service, is a model of software distribution, in which software and applications are hosted on a network (the internet, usually) by a vendor or service provider for use by their customers. Contrarily, On-premise software is software that is installed and run locally within your business or organization.

With SaaS, the user doesn’t buy the software; it’s more like a rental. The idea of paying a monthly subscription fee may seem costly at first, but in reality it’s a model that can save loads of time and money… we’ll get to that later.

What’s the Difference Between SaaS and Cloud Computing?

The cloud offers an array of unimaginably complex innovations. At a major level, it’s an a culmination of PCs, servers, and databases that are connected to allow clients to rent access and share these resources. This option is versatile so purchasers can scale up or down on the fly, as demand for compute fluctuates.

The cloud can allude to anything that is facilitated remotely and deployed by means of the Internet. While all cloud projects are controlled by hidden programming, SaaS refers particularly to business programming applications that are deployed by means of the cloud. Given the broad development and popularity of cloud, it’s been easier for SaaS engineers to develop and deploy new business applications to improve business functions.

According to a Forrester report, the leading adopters of SaaS have so far been customer relationship management (CRM) , human resource management  (HRM), collaboration software ( ie. Email), and procurement solutions, but the market is growing.

OK, now that that’s out of the way here are our top five reasons to consider SaaS for your business:

1. Low Up-front Cost

Unlike traditional on-premise solutions, SaaS solutions have a very low up-front cost. There’s no big software license fee, only a monthly subscription, and time and money spent on customization and implementation is drastically reduced, which leads to…

2. Pay as You Go

SaaS software gives you the benefit of predictable costs both for the subscription and to some extent, the administration. Even as you scale, you can have a clear idea of what your costs will be. This allows for much more accurate budgeting, especially as compared to the costs of internal IT to manage upgrades and address issues for an owned instance.

3. Reduced Time to Benefit

With SaaS your application is installed as soon as you sign up. There’s little time spent installing software on your systems, which means very little downtime from purchase to use. Your SaaS vendor should provide APIs and will perform most of the work to get their product working. Thus, the time and cost associated with large scale software deployment is greatly reduced, as time once spent installing and configuring your new software can now be used putting that software to work.

4. Hassle Free Upgrades

One of the biggest recurring costs of on-premise solutions is the need to purchase upgrades and new versions of your software in order to access new features and services. SaaS users don’t need to worry about that– the vendor is responsible for fixes, patches, and upgrades, and the cost of those services should be included in the monthly subscription fee. In most cases, those subscription fees add up to far less cost than frequent full-package upgrades. With built-in upgrades and maintenance, you benefit from reduced downtime and IT costs, as your vendor, not your IT, is responsible for maintaining reliability and keeping to the agree-upon service level. As an added bonus, SaaS saves you the annoyance of constant software update checks.

5. Backups and Data Recovery all Done For You

If you are familiar with traditional software, you will know that unless a costly automated solution has been implemented, the process of backing up your data on a weekly basis can be laborious at the best of times. SaaS solutions eradicate this painstaking task, instigating automatic backups without user intervention and thus ensuring the integrity of your data.

6. Accessibility

Because the software is accessible through a single delivery model: the internet, it’s available at any time, in any place, and, as vendors add mobile support, on any platform. Most importantly, it’s available through a tool that’s familiar to any user: their web browser. There’s no need for multiple builds of the same software for functionality across platforms, which means no learning curve for cross-platform users.

7. Always Get Most Up-to-date Technology.

Not at all like licensed programming where an organization must sit tight for each new software release, SaaS makes product redesigns, and upgrades accessible the moment they are released. This allows your organization to leverage the most recent technology and upgrades without the effort.

8. Zero Infrastructure

While deploying business applications by means of SaaS, the multifaceted nature of the basic IT base is all taken care of by your SaaS merchant. Clients don’t have to stress over the upkeep of equipment or worry about which OS supports which database.. SaaS vendors will deal with infrastructure for you, so you con focus on more pressing issues.

9. Anywhere Access

Cloud technology only requires a browser and internet access to connect. This makes mobile access, remote working and the sharing of information easier than ever.

10. Learn From Users and Improve the Software Over Time

Smaller projects can be released sooner to users, which allows the software vendor to make iterations in the software’s roadmap based on feedback and data gained from initial users so the final product is in line with its users’ needs and requirements.