You would be forgiven for thinking that buying and hosting your own software is the safest way to invest in business software. However. if the latest market figures are anything to go by, Software as a Service (SaaS) is the go-to solution for modern entrepreneurs.
Why choose SaaS?
This year IBM announced that cloud revenue is up by 20% and now represents almost a quarter of the company’s total revenue. That is not a figure to be sniffed at. In fact, such is the popularity of Software as a Service in recent years that big players such as Microsoft, SAP, Oracle and IBM have all moved into the market. More and more consumers choose to search and access their software via their smartphone. This means that SaaS is key when trying to reach a wide audience for commercial purposes. Web-based software allows entrepreneurs to operate their business from anywhere in the world. In addition, the majority of existing software provided by the likes of Microsoft et al, is now available in The Cloud too. With software giants seeing the benefits of SaaS for their business, it is time to get on board and see how it can work for you.
What will SaaS do?
Software as a Service has come a long way and is now a reliable choice for entrepreneurs. Like any software, you can experience unforeseen hitches and glitches, such as system errors, however SaaS continues to be the go-to option to minimise overheads while maximising access. Data access means productivity, and productivity means profit. By accessing your business-critical software via the web, you can manage your organisation from the comfort of your armchair.
Is SaaS Safe?
No software is fool proof. Even bespoke software that you own and host on site is vulnerable to cyberattack from external sources. That said, with cloud-based technology there is perhaps more of a responsibility held by the providers in that they are continuing to provide a service rather than selling a product. With the big players jumping on to the SaaS train, it is clear that these services hold some weight with the masses. The likes of Microsoft, Google and IBM have their reputation on the line and will therefore look to provide as robust an SaaS service as they possibly can. However, as with any technology investment, you need to protect it.
Protecting SaaS
To protect your SaaS in a perfect world, you would need your supplier to create a copy of a virtual server, including the SaaS application and your company data. This is an option provided by some, so it is worth checking with your providers. This can be very costly as with most applications, the software is constantly being updated as is your data. You will all already be paying for disaster recovery services and running mirrored systems on the off chance your provider goes out of business whilst robust can be expensive. You may instead consider a SaaS escrow agreement, such as AccessAssure.
SaaS escrow agreements protect end users in the event that their provider fails to perform software maintenance/updates that are critical to the software function, or in the event of the provider going into administration. LE&AS have created a proactive escrow plan, Access Assure, that monitors your host and software providers allowing early detection of changes to your provision. If your provider goes into administration and your provision fails, AccessAssure upholds your software access for up to three months. Access Assure maintains your access to business-critical software so that your business remains operational. Protect your business-critical software at a fraction of the cost, only paying for additional services when you genuinely need it. To find out more about protecting your cloud-based technology call us today on 0800 456 1115.
