SaaS software offers the following advantages :
Low cost of entry
As opposed to installed software, SaaS is delivered on a subscription model so costs are granular in nature and are incurred only as long as benefits are achieved. There are no enormously large up-front payments and annual license fees.
Reduced Overheads
Investing in expensive infrastructure is no longer required. All large initial investments on hardware, licenses, databases, ongoing overheads of employing and training IT staff, software and hardware maintenance and upgrades are managed by the supplier. Customers access and use the application on the Internet through any browser.
Cost-Effective Architecture
True SaaS software is implemented on a multi-tenant architecture. This means that the cost of all software, infrastructure and expertise is shared by a large number of customers. This drastically improves implementation speed and cost effectiveness over a standard ASP model.
Huge Scalability
The technology platform gives the customer the freedom to adapt to the changing usage of the software, on demand. A small business can buy the application for just a few employees; as it grows it can pay for more users and functionality to meet its needs. A large corporation can use the same software service to empower an entire division of say 5,000 users. Software delivered as services provide all of this scalability, without requiring customers to plan for it.
Increased Accessibility and Productivity
Web-based applications are easily accessible from anywhere. Your business knowledge is made accessible to all your knowledge workers increasing collaborative productivity. Geographically separated teams function better with better information availability.
Easy to implement
Since, the solution is delivered via the Internet; Software as a Service completely eliminates installation and setup at the customer’s end. Users can be up and running very quickly.
Improved Security
Software as a Service providers are in the business of providing uninterrupted reliable services. Skilled resources, network redundancies, stand-by power, up-to-date security and intrusion detection are mandatory infrastructure required to provide an enterprise class service. Such level infrastructural investment is usually an overkill for a single organization or team.
Defined Predictable Spends
Service based software operates on agreed pre-defined fixed charges. This enables you to predict the costs and helps you budget for your yearly financial expenses. The low-cost of the package does not drastically affect the figures for unplanned usage of the service.
Platform Independence
SaaS based solutions are hosted centrally with the service provider. No software to be installed at the customer’s premises. The software can be accessed on the Internet via a browser only. On Demand applications can be used by Windows, Linux or Mac users, providing true platform independence.
Focus internal IT initiatives only on direct, line of business technology
SaaS strategy not only eliminates the need for additional IT infrastructure spends, it substantially takes the burden off your internal IT staff. With the SaaS advantage, your staff does not have to manage upgrades, troubleshoot problems for generic software applications. This helps the company to direct limited in-house IT resources towards more business oriented initiatives. These business oriented initiatives are the ones that are usually un-out-source-able and require the focus of internal IT teams.
