Top Ten Benefits of SaaS for a Great ROI

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) has clearly emerged over the past several years as a viable,  enterprise-class model for meeting a wide array of business challenges. Yet, there remains a bit of skepticism and uncertainty about the value, reliability and benefits over traditionalon-premise software. Of course, Daptiv PPM is offered as a subscription service, so we want to shout its business value from the rooftops. Today, we’re going to break down what we think are the Top Ten Benefits that this not-so-new-but-still-fast-evolving software model offers:

1. Quick implementation – The SaaS model allows for a fast implementation because it is accessed via the Web and does not require time-intensive on-premise installation. In a recent independent study of our customer’s implementation cycles, we found that the average time of subscribe-to-live was less than 30 days.  By the way, quick doesn’t mean ‘no’.  It’s still important to think strategically about how you and your organization use technology to support your business, and to make sure you introduce the new tools to your organization in a way that ensures their use and adoption.
2. Availability – Because it’s hosted on the Web, SaaS ensures that employees in multiple locations can work with the same software versions with zero added effort.
3. Automatic updates – SaaS vendors are able to easily update software – saving customers from needing to buy and install new versions themselves.
4. No need for maintenance or heavy IT support– Unlike on-premise software, SaaS doesn’t require an in-house IT team to deal with software downtime or install software updates.
5. Subscription-based – Cost-effective, easy subscription model that does not require repeated purchases of the latest software versions or a heavy upfront investment.
6. Vendor Accountability – Since customers are always choosing to renew or not renew, vendors have added incentive to provide excellent service and real benefits to the customer .
7. Security – Collaboration and project management vendors using SaaS take security seriously and do the heavy lifting to ensure so that end-users and their IT departments don’t have to concern themselves with security issues like firewalls. Daptiv recently received ISO 27001:2005 Certification, an internationally recognized information security standard.
8. Web 2.0 features such as RSS feeds – Modern, on-demand software allows users to tap into the benefits of the web to get updates from their communities with automatic notifications like RSS and Web alerts.
9. Boost collaboration – Employees have the ability to easily engage with one another in real-time across the globe, and can access a shared, centralized work environment from wherever they are.
10. Flexibility – SaaS has the agility to meet the needs of employees across all departments and gives each employee insight into business operations.

Today’s economy is forcing companies to do more with less – increasing innovation while streamlining costs. SaaS tools keep costs low (little to no in-house IT team) with a fast implementation and bolstering collaboration, all resulting in a great ROI. In fact, a recent Forrester Consulting study concluded that Daptiv, as a SaaS tool, pays back in less than two months!

See any benefits of SaaS we missed? Let us know via a comment, or catch us on Twitter.

Photo credit: Jacob Morgan