IT Insight: Software as a Service improves day-to-day IT operations

From back-office procurement to manufacturing, forced digital transformation has accelerated our “work from anywhere” ability.
From back-office procurement to manufacturing, forced digital transformation has accelerated our “work from anywhere” ability.

If anything, the past two years have taught us how businesses can operate without interruption. From back-office procurement to manufacturing, forced digital transformation has accelerated our “work from anywhere” ability. This shift has left IT managers scrambling, updating devices and infrastructure but also securing this shift in safe, productive ways. With work from home users expected to triple in the next few years and with 40% of jobs already available remotely, operations in our digital world are relying heavily on SaaS (Software as a Service) platforms.

The Software as a Service model is software licensing sold on a subscription basis and centrally web hosted in the Cloud. These services, like MS Office 365, Zoom or GoToMeeting, One Drive, SharePoint, Drop Box and SalesForce are hosted in the Cloud and charged at a subscription fee rate to businesses based on user licenses. SaaS is easy to implement, almost immediately and costs less as there is almost no expense of installing it. Cloud based software is scalable as your business grows with little investment in time and money in training as it is often highly intuitive and easy to learn.

SaaS provides your business with software to use over the Cloud, but you still need IT managed services to implement networking and hardware necessities. A managed service provider adds value by offering additional services of maintenance, upgrades, and integration of SaaS to create better workflows for your business. It should be noted that SaaS monitoring is becoming increasingly imperative to have.

Your managed service provider can help with integration of your SaaS investment. Though sophisticated, one type of Cloud-delivered software cannot talk to another. For example, two types of plug-in software may need to be linked app to app (application program interface) for a seamless CRM experience. Managed service providers can customize configurations that SaaS would often only support with limited support hours per purchase. Your managed service provider can customize Cloud based software to meet your goals and intentions.

Your remote worker plan and decisions surrounding which technology assets to use and how to manage those are deliverable through your managed service provider. Questions regarding your VPN security and endpoint protection to those users are easily addressed. Essential software delivered through the Cloud and customizing that for efficiency and safety of your IT network is a choice that any organization needs to make in the long run, not just amid these complex times.

JoAnn Hodgdon
JoAnn Hodgdon

JoAnn Hodgdon is vice president and co-founder of Portsmouth Computer Group (PCGiT) with her husband David. PCG provides comprehensive managed IT services, business continuity, security, cloud computing and Virtual CIO services to their clients. You may reach her at joann@pcgit.com or at www.pcgit.com

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: IT Insight: Software as a Service improves day-to-day IT operations