Cloud (SaaS) Solutions: 7 Big Benefits for Small and Midsized Businesses.
Cloud-based solutions, also known as SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), are a good example of the benefits that SME’s get from this “digital revolution”. Only a decade ago, no small or medium-sized company could think about having a piece of corporate-level software that would make various business related processes much more effective and, as a result, cheaper. Today, one has a countless number of cloud-based solutions that help to run a business smarter. The following is a list of different ways modern SaaS technologies makes SME’s businesses better off. MRPEasy http://www.mrpeasy.com
Cloud-based solutions, also known as SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), are a good example of the benefits that SME’s get from this “digital revolution”.
Only a decade ago, no small or medium-sized company could think about having a piece of corporate-level software that would make various business related processes much more effective and, as a result, cheaper. Today, one has a countless number of cloud-based solutions that help to run a business smarter.
The following is a list of different ways modern SaaS technologies makes SME’s businesses better off.
MRPEasy http://www.mrpeasy.com
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CLOUD (SAAS) SOLUTIONS – 7<br />
BIG BENEFITS FOR SMALL<br />
AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES
FOURTH INDUSTIAL REVOLUTION<br />
According to professor Schwab Klaus, we are witnessing the fourth industrial<br />
revolution, a period when “new technologies are fusing the physical, digital <strong>and</strong><br />
biological worlds, <strong>and</strong> impacting all disciplines, economies <strong>and</strong> industries.” [1]<br />
<strong>Cloud</strong>-based solutions, also known as <strong>SaaS</strong> (Software-as-a-Service), are a<br />
good example of the benefits that SME’s get from this “digital revolution”.<br />
The following is a list of different ways modern <strong>SaaS</strong> technologies makes SME’s<br />
businesses better off.
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS<br />
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) allows easy access <strong>and</strong> in<strong>for</strong>mation<br />
management regarding current customers, interactions, first-contact sources,<br />
potential customers, lead “temperature” <strong>and</strong> much more.<br />
CRM is a great tool <strong>for</strong> sales teams where each potential customer can be lead<br />
through the sales pipeline <strong>and</strong> nurtured in the future, which results in better<br />
customer satisfaction on one side <strong>and</strong> more closed clients on the other.<br />
The most popular <strong>SaaS</strong> CRM is Sales<strong>for</strong>ce, while there are also more specific<br />
solutions that are better serving; particular industries, like MRPEasy, which,<br />
among other tools, offers a great CRM <strong>for</strong> manufacturing SME’s.
SECURITY IS NOT YOUR CONCERN<br />
Not having to host <strong>and</strong> maintain the software <strong>and</strong> the whole infrastructure on<br />
your own means better security due to two simple facts:<br />
1. You <strong>and</strong> your company’s personnel don’t have access to the actual core files<br />
of software, including the databases<br />
2. Always up-to-date. No more paid upgrades of the software or servers, like it<br />
used to be, when dealing with on-premises solutions. You no longer have to<br />
worry about timely security updates or patches.<br />
Still, keep in mind that human factor remains the weakest link of the whole<br />
infrastructure.
AFFORDABLE PRICING<br />
One of the main features of the fourth industrial revolution is that it makes the<br />
newest technology much more accessible to the mass market.<br />
Various <strong>SaaS</strong> plat<strong>for</strong>ms <strong>for</strong> SME’s are no exception. While the price tag of<br />
complex legacy solutions can easily be in the $100,000’s, then more simple<br />
<strong>SaaS</strong> solutions are easily available, even to smaller companies, with price tags<br />
starting from $10 per user/month.<br />
Thanks to the “digital age,” the expensive technology that used to be a<br />
commodity that only big corporations could af<strong>for</strong>d, is now a common practice of<br />
modern small <strong>and</strong> medium businesses.
PERFORMANCE & COST TRACKING<br />
Accurate per<strong>for</strong>mance tracking is one of the main areas where <strong>SaaS</strong> solutions<br />
can bring a great impact on your business in terms of decreased costs, as well<br />
as not-missed opportunities.<br />
If you know exactly how many available resources you have on h<strong>and</strong>, <strong>and</strong> how<br />
many are required to per<strong>for</strong>m a certain job, then you can easily estimate costs<br />
<strong>and</strong> timeframes.<br />
Also, smart <strong>and</strong> real-time per<strong>for</strong>mance tracking allows you to identify <strong>and</strong><br />
manage weak spots in your workflow - be it unproductive people, bottlenecks in<br />
the production process or resources not being used at full potential.
REAL TIME INTEGRATIONS (API)<br />
Most cloud-based services offer an API (Application Programming Interface),<br />
which makes it possible to integrate various solutions without having to input<br />
<strong>and</strong> process the data separately.<br />
For example, you can integrate a manufacturing resource planning software,<br />
like MRPEasy, with one of the best accounting <strong>SaaS</strong>, like QuickBooks Online,<br />
<strong>and</strong> get the best solutions from both worlds.<br />
The fact is that all-in-one solutions cannot be the best in all areas, like CRM <strong>and</strong><br />
finances or manufacturing; this is the reason why businesses often prefer to<br />
select the best ones in each class <strong>and</strong> API’s make simultaneous use possible.
REMOTE ACCESS<br />
The main idea behind having everything in the “cloud” is that all can be easily<br />
accessed on any device - anywhere where you have a stable-enough internet<br />
connection.<br />
Not only does this allow full mobility, but it also results in other benefits, like<br />
drastically lower costs, better security <strong>and</strong>, of course, much more efficient<br />
business management.<br />
The fact that you can access <strong>and</strong> manage the most important business data<br />
anytime means that you have much better control over the processes.<br />
.
CONCLUSION<br />
For sure, we are living in an interesting time, where in<strong>for</strong>mation <strong>and</strong> technology<br />
provides us with great new possibilities. <strong>Cloud</strong>-based services are just one<br />
example of how smaller companies can gain access to the same technology as<br />
big corporations, which has never been possible be<strong>for</strong>e.<br />
We at MRPEasy are doing our best to leave our own footprint in this revolution<br />
by trying to bring af<strong>for</strong>dable, top-of-the-class <strong>SaaS</strong> solutions to the<br />
manufacturing industry..