Why own when you can simply use as needed?
Anton Herbst, Chief executive officer, Tarsus On Demand
In the B2B technology market, the concept of software as a service (SaaS) is closely related to a leasing and renting mindset that we have seen in organisations like Airbnb and Uber. In IT specifically, it also includes maintenance and the upkeep of the service being supplied.
Why should SMBs care?
What makes SaaS particularly compelling for SMBs is that business applications delivered via a web browser free owners and managers from painful, costly installations, onerous contracts, and perpetual licence fees. It means that SMBs can outsource most of their software and infrastructure requirements, without the need for extensive in-house IT skills and large IT budgets.
But what is SaaS?
SaaS is a method of software delivery that allows data to be accessed from any device with an internet connection and a web browser. The servers, database, and applications are hosted by the vendor. Also known as cloud-based software, SaaS is now mainstream. And for good reason. Taking advantage of the enabling nature of the cloud, it allows people and organisations to earn profits from underutilised resources. It also answers the question of how companies can future-proof themselves in the face of the unpredictability of digital change.
The subscription model of SaaS makes the arrangement more flexible and affordable enough for any budget. Because cloud services are scalable, businesses can increase or decrease the amount of computing power they lease as needed. In addition, web-based software is flexible enough to be modified for specific business requirements, and also for individual users.
Who is responsible for the software solution?
The vendor is responsible for support, updates, and security, and provides service guarantees, such as level of uptime. Reputable vendors use highly secure public cloud services to deploy and store their software and data and are able to provide optimal data security for companies, not only reducing their IT security spend, but generally reducing risk too.
What’s the benefit for SMBs?
Both for growing and for established businesses, the “as a service” approach provides significant savings, eliminates implementation and maintenance time, and is scalable and accessible from anywhere. With so much to offer, the only question is: Why are SMBs still waiting to make the migration?