SaaS Development

Software as a Service or “SaaS” a revolutionary software “software-on-demand” model that operates through user subscription simply shifts away from the conventional way of delivering software. As most clients attest, the SaaS model is less burdensome with regards to the deployment or implementation of the software and its related management, as opposed to the customary model.

Scoping SaaS may be well demonstrated as an Enterprise Content Management  or ECM option. With ECM, the major selections for implementation are SaaS and a ”turnkey” solution. These choices have the upside and downsides as to each of them, but undeniably, the SaaS model has steadily been increasing in popularity as the more viable software solution for ECM. Scoping SaaS projects for ECM is less complex for various reasons.

The implementation methods covering are known to be speedier than any delivered application. While turnkey solutions may take months, SaaS is completed in a few days or weeks’ time. It may be a fact that turnkey solutions offer richer sets of features and functionalities, but are also directly tied to the complexity that comes with its implementation. As majority of SaaS solutions become easily configurable, they require the implementation only of certain required features.

Perhaps above all the features and benefits that characterize SaaS, it is best known for its cost-effectiveness in operating costs. Operational investments are significantly reduced with SaaS because no infrastructures will need to be maintained. Even the most basic – albeit the more essential – maintenance requirement, such as the management of patches and vulnerabilities is the SaaS provider’s obligation.

Generally, compliance in regulatory requirements is directly related to ECM. A bigger part of compliance depends upon proper content management, also called “Nemertes,” or information stewardship. Accordingly, this area is where a SaaS provider is differentiating the services – through support of regulatory requirements that will have to be complied, which may consist of GLBA, HIPAA, SB1386 and Sarbanes-Oxley, among some other 37 laws on state privacy.

SaaS offers enhanced security, which refers to continuous improvement in terms of integrity, availability and confidentiality. According to industry experts, SaaS succeeds in increasing these factors. Counterintuitive as it may be deemed, the moving of content toward third-party providers may be a wise move in terms of security. Naturally, though, success in security enhancement is hinged upon certain procedures and the controls that providers put in place in order to protect data.

The automated tools featured and offered by SaaS should also be taken advantage. To be highly successful, implementation, though at a limited scope, must cover all aspects pertaining to SaaS-friendly environment. These may include, among several others, data on network, configuration, system components, disaster plans and activities, and more importantly, planning on business continuity.
With all these components working together, the SaaS offering for CRMs will bring in revenues, and better customer relations.

Proven methodologies to successfully implement SaaS projects that are appropriately scoped should be significantly noted and applied.

Research reveals that CRM makes a good SaaS solution because of its limited scope in terms of deployment, which usually covers customer support and sales. Hence, the best way to have SaaS for ECM is to limit the implementation scope by either functional or organizational means. With an approach that is essentially limited in terms of scope, clients and providers both benefit from SaaS and answer to various content and software management issues.