The importance of Software as a Service (SaaS) in today’s global economy

The Covid-19 pandemic impacted global industry in a number of significant ways. One major development was how it created workflows that promoted safety, security and flexibility with remote access to employees. Pandemic shutdowns forced company leaders to seek digital transformation solutions to protect and adapt their businesses. Software as a Service (SaaS) is one such solution that emerged where businesses gained a significant competitive advantage amid the chaos of the changing global economy.

The idea of a SaaS model is not new. Companies have been selling subscription-based software for years allowing customers to pay only for the services they use. SaaS reduces or eliminates the costs of upfront purchasing, installing and maintaining of software. SaaS can greatly reduce a company’s IT budget with a subscription plan that meets the current and future needs of the organization with flexibility, scalability and security. This includes using SaaS to build mobile and web applications through the cloud, which has great appeal to the CIO and IT managers by eliminating expensive equipment and ongoing maintenance costs normally associated with software on desktop PCs.

SaaS offerings can be hosted on the cloud 24/7 via the organization, independent software vendor (ISV) or a third-party cloud provider such as AWS (Amazon Web Services), Microsoft or Google. Thus, remote connectivity and SaaS management provides both convenience and ease of use to be enjoyed by the company’s IT department, employees, suppliers and customers.

Key benefits of SaaS include:

• Low implementation costs:
  SaaS products are on the cloud server, eliminating the cost of hardware installation or upgrades. There is no need for on-premises dedicated servers, virtual private networks (VPNs), firewalls, storage and disaster recovery systems or network backup systems. Total cost of ownership and financial risks are mitigated with cloud-based services.
  
  
• Security: 
  Cloud developers are constantly adopting security efforts to protect data in the cloud since security it critical and most concerning to IT management and C-suite executives. Security methods such as multi-step authentication are used for SaaS services protection. 
  
  
• Scalability: 
  Employees use their web browser to initiate SaaS applications for quick deployment and automatic software updates versus traditional methods (hours and days) needed for installation.
  
  
• Ease of integration: 
  SaaS set-up only requires registration and application downloading via a web browser for fast and easy integration.
  
  
• Accessibility and team collaboration:
  SaaS access with constant software updates allows teams to collaborate concurrently with common usage of data files. Microsoft Office 365 is a SaaS example where users can sync their shared files with ease from any device whether laptop or mobile device. Software updates are automatically available to all users for efficient team project collaboration.
  
  
• Reliability through the cloud: 
  SaaS automatically saves data via the cloud, protecting information across the servers located in different geographies. In case of emergencies, backup servers can be accessed to retrieve the stored data, thus SaaS is a reliable solution for the company and its customers.

For C-suite executives and IT departments, SaaS can help business leaders develop a “cloud-first” strategy that will optimize productivity, resources, operations, and bottom-line profitability. The benefits of SaaS flexibility, accessibility, and scalability are keys to transforming business today.

For more information, please visit Siemens SaaS solutions.