The rental market is big business these days and many consider renting to be a viable option. Think about it, over 40% of the UK housing market is rented, more people are opting to lease cars rather than purchase them and millions of businesses rent hosting space for their website. Like it or not we are becoming a nation of rent lovers!
But – and it’s a big but – is it really a problem? You still acquire your chosen product but pay a retaining fee for it. Bye bye upfront costs.
So we rent in our private lives so why not in business too? SaaS or Software-as-a-Service is just that – you rent your software via the Cloud.
According to research published last year by IDC, spending on Cloud services by small businesses with up to 100 employees is projected to grow by over 70 percent from last year.
This is an incredible stat when you consider that most small business work with limited budgets.
So why do small businesses love SaaS so much?
1. SaaS converts fixed costs into variable costs
SaaS is perfect for small to medium sized businesses as there is no large capital expenditure. SaaS instantly removes fixed costs and turns them into variable ones that are predictable every month. Your Finance Director will love you for it!
What’s more, radical pricing innovations in SaaS enable you to pay per user so you can scale up or down depending upon your business’ demands. Therefore SaaS not only gives you variable costs it also reduces them as a whole.
2. SaaS is more secure for your data than on-premises
Data security is a hot topic for business, and so it should be. Your data is your lifeblood and with stringent laws ensuring you look after your business data means its security is a top priority for most businesses.
On-premises software will need additional anti-virus systems as well as physical security, backup and storage. Using SaaS you don’t. SaaS is Cloud based meaning your data resides in a server in the Cloud, which is managed by a third party. This company is, in effect, responsible for the entire security of your data. If they lose data, they lose customers and their reputation gets damaged, it’s that simple. Therefore it’s important for them to protect your data and make sure it is available to you 24/7.
Their security is better too as they have to look after data for multiple businesses so it’s state of the art with secure data centers, exceptional anti-virus and everything is regularly backed up. You get all this at a fraction of the cost too!
3. SaaS improves productivity
High employee productivity is related to two things: mobility and focus. SaaS frees your employees from the office allowing them to work wherever they are and at anytime. SaaS is the perfect solution for home workers or employees on the road. Remember, all you need is an Internet connection.
Your employees’ focus is improved too with SaaS as customer details can be updated and sent back to head office instantly and they will have all the information they need out on the road with them. Back at head office, orders can be processed faster, databases are updated in real-time and Managers have valuable, up-to-date information to make informed decisions.
All in all your business will be more efficient with SaaS.
4. SaaS gives you all the latest upgrades
Looking back a few years, software updates we’re the bane of every IT Manager’s life. They were costly, time-consuming and required a certain amount of know how to ensure they integrated seamlessly with the rest of the business and other systems.
But now with SaaS your worries are over. You’ll receive all the latest updates when they are released as your service provider controls the rollout, not you. Furthermore, because you access the service through the Cloud you know there won’t be any integration issues and deployment is faster than Speedy Gonzalez.
So there you have it, the main reasons why we love SaaS and that you should too.
What do you love about SaaS? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
PS: Never used SaaS before? See how easy and powerful it can be for your business.
