Today’s business owners face the constant challenge of reducing costs yet at the same time driving increases in revenue. One way a business can reduce capital expenditures is by utilizing SaaS applications. Not familiar with SaaS? Gartner defines software as a service (SaaS) “as software that is owned, delivered and managed remotely by one or more providers. The provider delivers software based on one set of common code and data definitions that is consumed in a one-to-many model by all contracted customers at anytime on a pay-for-use basis or as a subscription based on use metrics.”
You might be asking yourself, “What are a few examples of SaaS applications?” SaaS applications include but are not limited to, Google Apps, Twitter, and Salesforce. Because SaaS applications provide significant benefits, they are rapidly penetrating the IT market. Benefits include low cost, pay-as-you-go subscription model, and little to no maintenance for the business owner.
Cost savings is always top of mind for today’s business owners. SaaS applications can save businesses money on multiple fronts. The biggest cost savings come in the form of no additional capital expenditures. The SaaS provider supplies the appropriate software, storage and resources to get the customer up and running quickly. For example, when a business purchases a public cloud service to safeguard data on desktops and laptops, the software can be downloaded quickly, and in a relatively short time the business can be securely backing up important files.
The pay-as-you-go business model is simple yet efficient. Pay as you go gives your business the benefit of accurate budgeting practices as well as the ability to forecast costs as your business scales. Pay as you go also gives you the flexibility of not being tied down by lengthy contracts that can hinder your business operations.
An additional benefit of being a SaaS customer is that the service provider is responsible for making sure systems are up to date and that security is handled responsibly. This is a huge upside for the customer because, instead of worrying about security, the IT department can utilize its time and resources on business-critical priorities. Security is something that SaaS providers do not take lightly. For example, a SaaS backup service from EMC utilizes only world-class data centers, embracing the highest of security measures, including 24x7x365 onsite monitoring and security, temperature controls, backup power supplies, fire suppression systems, and biometric scanners.
The benefits of SaaS go far beyond what I’ve discussed in this post. SaaS applications provide numerous benefits across many different industries, making it one of the fastest growing technology sectors. If you’re not already taking advantage of SaaS applications, now is the time to be asking yourself, “What can SaaS do for me?”
