It's believed that internet life runs 5 times faster than life in the real world. With this in mind I believe it's well worth
taking a look at the time and money that can be saved by moving your business processes to the web. Let's take a
quick look at online Printing to see how it compares to traditional software, how easy it is to implement and how it
might be used to improve business efficiency.
Moving to the web with the Software as a Service (SaaS) model.
We're all well-known with software that you buy and install on your computer to use, well there's a new way of
getting things done and it involves accessing functionality and services online. If you've used the Hotmail email
client or Google Reader then you're already familiar with hosted web applications and some of the benefits that this
kind of online software can bring, the business model for delivering these services is called Software as a Service
(SaaS) and there are a number of key characteristics that make software delivered in this manner different.
1. Available anywhere.
You can access your software from any computer equipped with a web browser and an internet connection, this
means that offices in a number of locations can all work on the same information in real time, without having to go
to the complexity and expense of setting up a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
2. Automatic Updates.
Updates and improvements are rolled out automatically without you having to install any upgrades onto your
computer.
3. Low entry cost.
Because the overhead for running the system is managed centrally the infrastructure costs are spread across a
high number of users. Also, you are not paying for implementation so set-up costs are minimal.
4. Managed services.
Because the software is delivered as a service you can generally get a level of support built in.
5. Scalable.
Usage levels are linked to a pricing scale which means that you can pay as you go and scale up or down smoothly
without having to buy servers or employ more staff to maintain infrastructure, just add or remove licences and
service packages to match your needs.
6. Cross Platform.
Whether you use a Mac, a PC or even Linux, because you access the software through a web browser your
operating system is not a problem.
