Negosentro | Ever since the advent of customer relationship management technology, SaaS tools have been taking the business world by storm. It revolutionized the way businessmen handled customers and used software. When used correctly, this innovation can become a business’s ticket to stand out from the competition and attain long-term success.
On the basis of research conducted by Gartner, it had estimated the growth of cloud computing services by 18%, reaching the $246.8 billion mark in the year 2017.
SaaS (Software as a Service) has since been known to occupy the topmost spot with regards to the most used category of the public cloud services followed by IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service).
And, once again Gartner has given its verdict! It predicts a steep growth in SaaS revenue by a figure of $85 billion in the year 2019.
The largest Saas investment fund happens to be owned by Sequoia Capital, with them investing in at least 1222 companies. Hence, we can see SaaS firms have been sourcing its revenues from some of the primary players in the market.
SaaS has matured its offerings over the years. Some of them being the management of human capital and customer relationship with the increasing understanding of customer satisfaction metrics.
64 percent of all small scale businesses were already dependent on SaaS in 2017. Furthermore, 78 percent of them are predicted to entirely transfer to the cloud by the year 2020.
Most of them use at least four apps which deal with emailing, management collaboration, which are apps like Slack website development and payment acceptance.
Small and medium scale business mostly employ SaaS in aspects like IT support, customer management, and increasing organizational effectiveness. SaaS is mostly used for website development in the marketing realm.
While using SaaS for managing email campaigns and PR lists isn’t much behind, they are used primarily for backing up data and security as far as the IT sector is concerned.
There’s a never-ending list of what SaaS can offer. However, all of it can be boiled down to increasing productivity. So, here are five such ways in which SaaS tools help you increase the productivity of your small business team:
#1. Increases ease of work
One of the main reasons backing up SaaS’s unparalleled growth is its ease of use. Companies can straight away put their new recruits to work, perhaps with some assistance from their colleagues in the beginning. But, they won’t have to conduct any complicated training sessions anymore.
It’s so easy you’ll feel you’re setting up a Twitter account!
The usability of SaaS makes it very easy for businesses to introduce this tech to their employees. This can be very beneficial, especially for small-scale business owners who are still low in funds and do not have enough financial resources to conduct training and workshops. Since SaaS tools are very easy to use, businesses won’t have to wait for a long period to see results from their investments.
To add, the interfaces are mostly airy, light on the eye and your brain! Making your staff adapting to it would be plain sailing, so to speak. On the other hand, conventional applications require rigorous training hours.
#2. Reduces maintenance costs
Want to spare yourself the cost and energy of going through the maintenance process of your company’s IT infrastructure? Well, look no further! SaaS tools are the best solution to your problem.
What happens in case of on-premise infrastructure is that the IT department spends a huge load of money, time, and energy to ensure the smooth functioning of the system and preferably reduce the downtimes almost to nil.
The cost of durable repairs, effective ventilation, secure backups, and good quality hardware is a story for another time!
With SaaS at your disposal, you don’t have to worry about backing up crucial data regularly anymore as that happens automatically here!
Also, there is an undeniable fall in the downtimes as the ones accountable for them would be the third-party vendors. And they have a larger team with more dedicated and extremely professional individuals working together solely to keep the system online all the time.
#3. Cuts on overall expenditure
Saas tools greatly help you in cutting costs. And so, it is ideal for your small business. Based on research carried out by Computer World, companies that adopt SaaS tools and technology are capable of bringing down their IT expenditure by more than 15 percent!
As mentioned earlier, the cloud-based technology facilitates small companies to utilize software applications and externalize the total infrastructure to dedicated third party companies who provide services at considerably lower rates as opposed to on-premise teams.
While one has to purchase a lifetime license to use all the features of traditional software, SaaS gives you the option to pay as per your usage only. The fee is most of the times on a monthly basis or annual basis. It encompasses all the expenses of the database, storage, and administration.
Aside from the diversity of services available, there are countless SaaS pricing models to choose from today, making it very easy for business owners to find one that suits their budget. This means that business owners do not have to compromise other facets of their businesses just so they afford to purchase and implement different SaaS tools.
For instance, these days, people are able to host and operate their websites on shared servers similar to HostGator and GoDaddy, use them as per their convenience and pay accordingly.
Moreover, you can scale it up at any moment. Another such agency offering a standard, one-stop, cost-effective solution for all your data requirements is Amazon Services.
Various free alternatives of different SaaS tools can be found by just a little bit of research. For example, Google Analytics provides you a free alternative to measure your advertising ROI. Hence, you can avoid using paid services like Kissmetrics.
Additionally, it’s always wise to opt for a free trial before purchasing a software. There are free pipeline templates available on the market if you are not very sure about investing in a CRM just yet.
#4. Improves collaboration
Teamwork and collaboration are the two cornerstones for any organization to be able to reap the benefits of increased productivity, fast and accurate communication, and better execution of tasks. It’ll be very challenging for any business to succeed if the workplace does not encourage teamwork and collaboration. Hiring the best talents in the industry to work for your business will be useless if they are not provided with tools that allow them to work with other individuals.
Forbes says, 73% of all organizations consider collaboration to be the foundation of success in business and hence are planning to improve on this aspect.
In fact, in this era of remote working collaboration has become more important than ever.
There are companies offering software for collaborative services that incorporates the capabilities of social networks into work processes. These type of software brings all your business tools that take care of your calendar, emails, CRM, customer communication channels, and task management together at one place.
All of these features are incorporated into different SaaS tools. Implementing these in your business will make it very easy for your employees to work with each other, even if they are not physically present in one brick and mortar office setup. SaaS tools will allow all of your employees to remain on the same page, allowing them to complete a wide variety of projects as a team.
With all these features on your fingertips, you can constantly and effectively stay connected with your teammates and lead your company on the path to success.
#5. Produces more in less time
SaaS tools automate most of the tasks. So, they help you save big on your time. That way, you and your team would be able to focus on more important aspects of the business like its development rather than wasting time on performing trivial tasks.
For instance, SaaS allows a company to automate multiple functions like planning, staffing, and selection of projects. It basically tracks and carries on the entire lifecycle of the project. This means that your employees will no longer have to accomplish tasks from scratch, allowing them to do more in less time.
Moreover, these cloud-based software can make the lives of your HR managers considerably easier. There are software that replaces the need for employee data on manual spreadsheets. You can also combine this software with payroll. HR practitioners working for your business won’t have to manually input the time records of your employees to prepare their salaries, which can mean lesser errors.
What’s more interesting is that employees can themselves keep their personal information up-to-date. They can also apply for vacations electronically and easily. Managers, on the other hand, can customize reports that are accessible to them, and the changes will reflect everywhere.
To add, SaaS has its uses in the sales sector too! It allows employees in the sales department to spend less energy and time on paperwork and more on revenue generation. Revenue generation is one of the most important aspects to focus on to achieve success.
Once you have tried and tested the potential options, and chosen the ideal tool for your company, you can leave the rest on the software.
Wrapping up
To conclude, SaaS is a time-tested alternative to complicated, traditional office software. It has proven its worth and has built trust among the business giants with time. We highly recommend you give SaaS a chance and witness your small business reach new heights!
