November 2016 Credit Management magazine

CONSIDER THEREFORE
SAAS SOLUTIONS THAT ARE
PROVIDED ALL INCLUSIVE:
• Software Licence
• Activity based transparent pricing
• Hardware and infrastructure
• Project management
• Support staff
• No hidden costs
• No extortionate consultancy fees
SaaS solutions were born
out of the changing way
that IT departments are
structured. Keeping up
with the fast paced and
changing landscape of
solutions and technology
has become very difficult
for organisations that
wish to cover all business
requirements using inhouse
development teams.
THE BIRTH OF SAAS
SaaS solutions were born out of the changing
way that IT departments are structured.
Keeping up with the fast paced and changing
landscape of solutions and technology has
become very difficult for organisations that
wish to cover all business requirements
using in-house development teams. Where
these teams exist (a lot of organisations
have outsourced this scarce and expensive
resource) they are focussed on the core
functions of the business, generally those
that maintain their competitive edge such as
operational systems and sales portals. This
has enabled a new breed of providers to be
created who specialise in functional areas –
AR, AP, HR, Finance – and are able to provide
a very rich and deep functionality that was
previously out of the realms of possibility with
any in-house development team. Furthermore,
unlike the in-house team that quickly moves
onto the next project, it is absolutely in
the SaaS providers’ interest to continually
innovate, adapt and enhance their product and
service offerings to keep customers engaged
and the benefits flowing. They are therefore
able to maintain and grow a team around their
products to provide the support required and
to deliver those enhancements.
VALUE FOR MONEY
The move towards more standardised business
processes has also enabled the cost of these
solutions to become much more affordable.
In the days of in-house development, the
typical cost of a system was in the hundreds
of thousands with payback typically within
two years if you were lucky. Those systems
also came without a guarantee of working or
to deliver benefits, and the margin between
success and failure was very thin.
SAAS V STANDARDISATION
SaaS solutions are proven and have clients
that can provide testimony of benefits
delivered. Solutions are quick to implement,
typically six to ten weeks, and ultimately if
the solution does not deliver as expected
there is always the option to walk away at a
fraction of the cost of an in-house or customer
development system gone wrong. SaaS does
not necessarily mean standard, however.
Solutions are usually highly configurable,
and the trend is away from out and out
customisation due to expense and constraints
on being able to take the latest update quickly
and without major rework. Business process
optimisation is generally what the SaaS
solution will have, therefore being prepared
to change your business process is key to
achieving the benefits.
HIGHLY INTUITIVE APPLICATIONS
SaaS solutions have evolved to be highly
intuitive such that they do not require
extensive training manuals – not many people
had lessons on how to use the Internet for
example. There are certain protocols and
standards that are built into the applications
which as users of technology we have
become accustomed to (anecdotally – the
windows game of Solitaire was principally
designed to enable players to get used to
using the mouse!)
The recognised standard
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