Simply put, SaaS, or Software as a Service is a way for a business to avail itself of the best gear without much initial outlay. Sounds good, right? That’s because it is. This aside, what’s it all about?
SaaS Explained
When a business wants to get its hands on, let’s say, a communications package, it can decide to buy it outright. This can represent a major investment and commitment in terms of money and time. It might be a little large for the business’ needs, which means that the company is paying for features it won’t need, essentially wasting its money.
What the SaaS model offers is a wholly different way of looking at this acquisition. Instead of buying wholesale, the business leases the service from a cloud-based provider. It’s become a hugely popular way to equip a business with what it needs. By hugely popular, read $208 billion by 2023.
So, what advantages does this bestow?
Only Pay for What You Use
Unlike the unfortunate business splashing out cash on what it doesn’t need, a business using SaaS can elect to use only certain features and will then pay a lease fee on those and no other.
Scale Up or Down
Business needs fluctuate. One day you’re topped-out with transactions, other days it’s coming like a ghost town. So you need a service that can rev it up or ease it down accordingly. As the business grows, you can elect to pay for more service. Should a quiet spell descend, you can trim your costs. This is all achievable with SaaS.
Installation in an Instant
As it’s hosted remotely, there’s no sitting around waiting for the install. And no disruptive cabling or holes being drilled noisily into your office walls. If your connection’s fast enough, then you’ll be good to go in no time at all. Then it’s just a question of logging on and getting your staff up to speed with some online training.
Expertise on Tap
You know those I.T. experts you have on the payroll that cost a fortune and everybody’s scared to go to for help? Well, you can move in a friendlier and more accessible direction by using the amenable people and chatbots that your service provider lays on. These assistants can deliver all levels of help, from a beginner’s guide to unified communications on up.
With this kind of support, business downtime is hugely reduced. In fact, call centre uptimes of 99.99% are common, depending on the SLA (Service Level Agreement) you have.
Updates Upcoming
Finally, whenever a new version of what you’re using becomes available, the update takes place automatically, with zero disruption. Just like that.
Saas SOS: What Are You Waiting For?
Think it’s too good to be true? You’ve got a SaaSpicious mind. Software as a Service is clearly an excellent way forward for a businessperson who wants the best features smoothly delivered at reasonable cost. Not you? Then SaaShay away. If, on the other hand, you’re the kind of business person that wants supreme service for a snip, then you’ve got it sussed!