With the rapid expansion & implementation of technology, small businesses have got the opportunity to adopt the latest technology in order to optimize their business model. If they implement the right technology at the right place, it can help mitigate operational expenses, while maximizing business productivity. More and more, small and medium enterprises are turning to cloud-based software to boost their business. But many are also there, who still hesitate to move, worrying about the cost & data safety. The advantage of SaaS (software-as-a-service) can be clearly seen in the past few years. Cloud computing, especially software-as-a-service has become the best way for businesses both large and small to gain a competitive advantage through cloud adoption.
Out of the three mainstays of cloud computing, SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) is one of the most popular among business organizations. Others are PaaS (platform-as-a-service) and IaaS (infrastructure-as-a-service). In 2017 the Software-as-a-Service market is expected to grow 20.3% from 2015, with an expected value of $ 43.7 billion. The SaaS market is huge and the opportunity is high to taste success with the use of SaaS applications for your business operations.
SaaS technology-An Opportunity to Compete
“Small businesses are moving towards cloud technology” and implementing SaaS solutions to help their business grow to scale their operations while keeping the IT cost, infrastructure overheads, cost related to additional resources and inventory management challenges minimum.
When it comes to acquiring market share and win customers, small businesses were relegated to the sidelines as bigger players were enjoying a monopoly. But, the scenario has changed since the last decade. Small businesses are slowly capturing market share & startups are becoming the biggest threats for big players. Cloud-based SaaS services are changing all that. It gave an opportunity for small & medium sized companies to compete in the market & win their share of customers.
Optimized Revenue Flow
Revenue flow is the lifeblood of any business. But in the case of a start-up or a small scale business, constant revenue flow is very important. Anything which restricts the free-flow of revenue, particularly in the initial days of the business, can be disastrous.
Small businesses are choosing cloud-based SaaS solutions over an on-premise ERP system which requires a lot of up-front cost and hardware. It makes far more sense to adopt cloud solutions, which will give you an opportunity to scale up or down in the future. The choice in terms of the best way to move forward without compromising the cash flow is the best business strategy.
Cloud-based SaaS can be treated as a relatively lesser expense that can be dealt with in a timely and predictable manner. It will make sure to minimize all the operational costs and give an opportunity to optimize revenue flow.
Impressive Features
What can make your resources more productive? What can make your business model more efficient? The seamless features of your business application are the best answer to this. It will provide your workforce with an opportunity to perform their daily tasks in a hassle-free manner.
Cloud platforms always introduce new innovative features and optimized information for both internal and external use for your customers, partners, vendors, etc. The traditional business applications require manual upgrades and healthy investment.
A SaaS business solution enables you to receive updates, software upgrades, and new functionalities as soon as they are released. This will enhance efficiency and will give you the latest business insights. SaaS solutions automatically updated to make your data more secure and usable. It automatically fixes all the bugs and makes the system seamless. You can also start using the new features immediately. SaaS solutions will allow you to have a vertical and horizontal look at your entire business processes which help to find the right solutions to business problems.
Business growth is now being driven by the speed of technological change and the latest application features, and the fact is that traditional software solutions are increasingly lagging behind. The tables have officially turned. You need to be an early adopter.
Remote Access
As you don’t need any software or hardware installation, manual setup or updating- businesses can get started straight away. They need to sign up for the service and give access to the appropriate person. From there onwards, the entire business process is run off the cloud. All the assigned resources can access the data and all the departments can be integrated. The access is remote and can be available instantly from anywhere, anytime and on any device.
All the files, reports, business websites can be integrated with the SaaS ecosystem. This allows the users an enhanced information sharing system between internal and external departments. This will eventually improve collaboration and overall business efficiency.
Application Cost reduction
This is one of the most important advantages of a SaaS application. Every business needs fewer application costs. It can even put a bigger impact on individual business units and as a result the entire business process. IT infrastructure cost, maintenance cost is always on the higher side. SaaS solutions can significantly lower these costs, which means you can invest your capital in other areas while having a secure and flexible business system.
SaaS business models are usually subscription based and not only allow scalability but also tailored solutions for your specific needs. Very minimal initial investment and lesser hardware cost make SaaS more popular among business units. Whenever you want you can add/remove users and also can control the entire business functionalities. This saves time, cost and incredibly lower your investment risks.
The popularity of SaaS is steadily increasing. Small businesses are moving towards cloud-based SaaS solutions because it simplifies deployment and reduces customer acquisition costs. With SaaS, developers can also support many customers with a single version of the product. SaaS allows companies to scale as fast as possible without investing in costly infrastructure or adding IT resources.