In a recent (2009) conference, hosted by Computerworld, it became clear that SaaS is now mainstream.  To quote some of the attendees:

• “SaaS adoption has moved past the ‘tipping point’”
• “A new ecosystem is forming around Cloud computing that will transform the IT sector.”
• “SaaS is not an optional disruptive technology.”
• “Cloud, SaaS and Mobility are helping to make the “boundary-free enterprise”

In a nutshell, subscription-based software and services are getting stronger and stronger, offering more and more benefits to businesses.  For example, nine out of ten companies plan to grow their use of “Software as a Service,” according to the Gartner Group.  Should you be on this list?  Consider the following:

Business Drivers

Businesses of all sizes are moving to SaaS because of lower upfront costs, shorter implementation times, less implementation risk, reduced need for hard-to-find in-house technical resources and more flexibility to right size systems (up or down).  SaaS has a proven track record of reducing ongoing IT operations costs, freeing up capital and resource to focus on driving the business forward to new advantage and competitiveness.

Businesses are adopting SaaS as ‘insurance’ against business disruption and security threats.  They’re doing this by taking advantage of the most advanced, comprehensive, and easy to use data backup/restore, virus/spam protection, device recovery services – all automatically and without having to purchase a single piece of software.

Businesses are using SaaS tools to run their businesses better.  Whereas in the past, small and medium businesses would lag behind the technology advantages that larger businesses could afford. SaaS levels the playing field for customer management, manufacturing and distribution, HR/payroll, accounting, banking, collaboration, and productivity.  Small and medium businesses, through SaaS, have access to the latest, most powerful, and cost effective technology without any capital investment or the need for ‘in-house’ technical expertise.

The adage that ‘old is new again’ is true.  Return on investment, risk mitigation, total cost of ownership, and a focus on the business remain central to technology discussions.  SaaS has proved it’s worth using these traditional criteria.

Where is the fit?

An additional, recent survey pointed to collaboration products of all sorts as the top application area for SaaS based solutions, with human resources and customer service next on the list. Finance and accounting moved up from 10^th place to 5^th place in 2010 – one indicator that SaaS is on the move from the edges to the core of the business as the technology continues to mature.

For mid-sized companies, a mix of in-house and SaaS based solutions has been demonstrated by True Religion jeans. True Religion Jeans found that vendor experience and the ability to “try before you buy” testing of potential SaaS solutions improved operation and avoided common adoption mistakes.  True Religion also realized the benefit of being able to spend more time focusing on the business needs instead of on technology.

For small companies, the savings are even more pronounced.  In a recent presentation, Tom Kelly CFO/CIO at Kardia Healthcare discussed his experience with SaaS applications when he was with 2^nd Wind.  As an exercise equipment company, 2^nd Wind was able to replace virtually all the in-house systems with SaaS solutions and reduced costs by 61%.

The bottom line:

More and more businesses are exploring, understanding, and implementing Software as a Service to drive their bottom line. Isn’t time to explore if SaaS is right for your business?

SaaS is no longer a theory, but is a viable reality that has demonstrated business and financial benefits.  Small and medium business, today, benefit the most through the elimination of capital spend, reduction in technical resource requirement, increased business continuity and safety, and lowered overall IT cost.

By NextCorp, Ltd., Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner for Texas

Everyone can recall horror stories about mishaps that occur when workers aren’t on the same page. Collaborating effectively to keep business running smoothly and productively.  But, should collaboration break down the consequences can be serious.

Efficient collaboration is rarely simple and it can take many forms. Some needs are internally focused, for instance, keeping employees current on corporate policies and procedures. Others require collaboration with external constituents, such as partners, suppliers or customers. Some needs are short term, as when people need to come together to manage a project, while other requirements are ongoing, like when groups need to access, share and update documents, databases, calendars and directories. And, businesses may need to collaborate within one physical location, or with others at numerous locations around the world.

Because effective internal and external collaboration is vital to a successful business, larger businesses build or buy collaboration solutions that are managed in-house. While this model may work for some, these solutions rarely meet the needs of smaller businesses that often lack the resources necessary to deploy, manage and maintain them. The costs involved, for example, from upfront licenses, hardware and integration expenses, to ongoing expenses for maintenance, upgrades and support are often prohibitive for most small business owners.

Software-as-a-Service – The Small Business Alternative

SaaS allows businesses to subscribe to software over the Web and pay for it on a monthly basis. The services can be accessed online from anywhere with an Internet connection, so remote and mobile workers can always be connected to the home office. Furthermore, because the solutions are hosted, many of the upgrades and maintenance requirements can be automated – a big benefit for small businesses with limited IT resources.

Compared with a traditional licensed software model, software-as-a-service offers businesses many distinct advantages that are quickly driving adoption:

·         Rapid Deployment: Rather than taking months to implement, businesses can be using the solution in a matter of minutes.

·         Less Expensive and More Predictable Costs: Companies pay a set monthly or annual subscription fee, typically based on the number of users. In addition to drastically reducing upfront hardware and software purchases, SaaS also eliminates the need for specialized IT talent, and reduces ongoing costs for maintenance, upgrades and support.

·         Faster ROI: By reducing deployment time as well as initial and ongoing capital investments and staffing costs, small business customers can reduce risk and achieve a faster return on investment.

·         Low or No Risk Trials: Business can test-drive online services over the Internet, enabling a small business to try the application and see if it fits their needs before making a broader commitment.

·         Ease-of-Use: Web-based applications use familiar Web interfaces that are easy for administrators and users to navigate, resulting in higher user adoption and reduced training costs.

·         More Responsive Service and Support: Using a “one-to-many” model, SaaS providers can more easily support, manage and upgrade their solutions. They can see how customers use their services in real-time, get live feedback and fix problems once – for all the customers benefit.

The benefits of SaaS become even more apparent for applications specific to collaboration. Because users can access the service via any Web browser, access is not dependent on using a specific personal computer or mobile device.  All users can access information from anytime, from different locations and desktops.  And because the solutions are scalable and expandable, businesses can start collaborating right away, and then fine-tune processes and functionality as they learn what works and what doesn’t.

So, where is the hidden opportunity?  It is in the ability for your small and medium business to gain the power and functionality of collaborative technologies without the risk and costs normally associated with such solutions. 

By NextCorp, Ltd., Dallas Microsoft Dynamics Patner

When is it Time to Move to SaaS?
Know if SaaS is Right for Your Business

 
A relatively new concept, known as Software as a service (SaaS), allows organizations to take advantage of critical technical functionality and services without building, expanding, operating, or managing underlying systems.  At its most basic level, SaaS allows a small and medium business to take full advantage of leading edge technology, software, and business processes without having to own or operate it.  You get the advantages that have been largely the domain of large businesses, without the investment.
 
While the benefits are many, SaaS may not be right for your business.  To help you evaluate whether or not SaaS is right for your company, we’ve put together a specific list of things to consider.  The more you can answer ‘yes’ to any of these, the more you need to consider SaaS for your business.

1. IT systems management and optimization are not core competencies central to your business:  Unless one or more of the terms “IT,” “computer”, or “systems” are in the name of your company, it’s unlikely that IT infrastructure management and optimization are your core corporate competencies.

2. IT capital and/or staffing expenditures are rising/continuing to rise at your organization company. If one of the reasons you invest in IT is to increase organizational efficiency, shouldn’t IT costs go down, not up, as the business becomes more IT-dependent?  If your technology costs keep going up, then it may be time to consider SaaS.

3. There are physical limits to your organization’s ability to grow and/or improve its IT resources: Even companies with well-designed, incredibly efficient server closets or data centers are increasingly running out of space, or requiring more power and cooling, or are seeing increased utility bills.  SaaS can eliminate all three of these problems.

4. User demands for IT systems and support are growing faster than your company’s ability to meet them: Rapid growth in demand for IT resources has many causes. Examples include new or expanded web commerce, employee turnover, new customers or partners requirements, added support for mobile-networked device users, mergers, acquisitions, or organic organizational growth.

5. Licensing and/or support costs for business-critical software applications are exceeding available budgets in your company: This is a pervasive issue that just doesn’t seem to go away.  The more technology a business procures, the more budget is consumed on renewing licenses and keeping the systems running.  On average, 63% of all IT budget is spent on maintenance (Gartner & Forrester).  SaaS can eliminate these license maintenance and support costs.

6. IT support requirements are draining limited resources away from your company’s core business activities: You need to spend your $$ on core business activities, not on buying, implementing, upgrading, managing, and optimizing technology.  SaaS can solve this problem, quickly and effectively.

7. Your organization needs to deploy new applications or services quickly, without operational disruption, and with limited or no capex budgets: Business responsiveness and competitive advantage demand a flexible and quickly adaptable business infrastructure. If your systems take weeks or months to adapt, you’re not at an advantage. SaaS-based solutions can be up and running much faster than traditionally licensed options.

8. You need to move critical IT resources to fewer, more modern platforms to improve business performance and reduce dependency on increasingly scarce and expensive support resources: How about getting rid of all your platforms and support resources in one decision?  If you’re at a point where its time to consolidate, upgrade, or if you’re just challenged at attracting and keeping key IT resources, consider SaaS alternatives.  You can solve all three of these challenges, right away.

9. The business needs do not require extensive or frequent customization of critical software or services: If your business requirements don’t require many modifications of technology or if your business needs to take advantage of ‘best practices’, SaaS is the ticket.  SaaS solutions can easily accommodate your general business requirements without the need of significant modification and associated costs.  And, the best SaaS environments automatically build in the best practices you need – right out of the box!  You get the best-of-both-worlds, all without capex expense.

10. You understand and have, or seek to acquire, expertise in process management necessary for business success: Business and IT processes form the backbone of a company.  SaaS doesn’t eliminate the need for such.  However, the very best SaaS providers also have the expertise you need to prepare, adapt, roll-out, and support your critical business and IT processes within your company.  They take on the ‘heavy lifting’ of making sure your business has what it needs while you concentrate on running your business and investing in your core competencies.

Is your business ready to move to SaaS? You can make theTransition easily and quickly.  Get back to managing your business and not technology.  Take full advantage of functionality and benefit that is ‘beyond your budget.’  All with one call.  Accomplish all this with the SMB Suite.  A full solution set bringing you all the outsourced technology advantages you need to lead. The SMBSuite is your answer to technology confusion, lowering It costs, and delivering the tools you need to run the business. Visit: http://www.getsmb.com or call 1-800-525-6398.

So, what are you going to do now?  Maintain the status quo and continue to grow your internal IT budgets? Or, learn more about how to get off the ‘technology train?