When Adopting and Implementing a Software as a Service Platform

Software as a Service (SaaS) has become mainstream with a notable increase in SaaS offerings and enterprise adoption. Many organizations subscribe to the SaaS model instead to take advantage of its eye-catching features and benefits.

Certain vital factors must be up to date in a SaaS platform to function optimally and produce user results.

Most business owners or managers when purchasing software may be ignorant of these factors which may cause them to make the wrong choice concerning the right SaaS platform to adopt.

Selecting the right SaaS platform has become critical as many businesses focus on externalizing their IT system.

Various SaaS providers offer similar services, making adopting the right SaaS provider difficult, especially when every available provider claims to be the best.

You also have to consider factors such as servers, data centers, infrastructure, maintenance, configuration, costs, and subscription and backup plans before you implement SaaS.

This article will discuss key factors to watch out for when adopting or implementing SaaS in your organization.

1. Hosting Data Storage and Backups

Software as a Service (SaaS) is an effective means of hosting and delivering data and applications over the internet. It is opposed to the traditional way of installing and maintaining software, making it easy to access data and store applications through the internet.

SaaS helps to relieve the stress of complex software and hardware management, a major pain point for most businesses before theSaaS platform became increasingly available and accessible.

You can refer to SaaS applications as on-demand software, hosted software, or web-based software. Examples of SaaS applications include Microsoft Office 365, Salesforce Sales Cloud, Google Workspace, and Zoho CRM.

Choosing the perfect SaaS platform for your business is a very important step in ensuring the success of the business.

To make this decision, you must consider the platform's hosting data storage and ability to back up your files and applications successfully without unexpected constraints affecting the integrity of the stored files.

You should adopt a SaaS platform that helps to effectively manage access to the stored application, including security, availability, and performance. The responsibility that falls on the client company is to host the data storage and backups.

2. Vendor Relationships and Partnerships

Before adopting a Software as a Service platform, it is important to consider the provider's partnership and relationship with vendors, especially if the company operates in a multi-vendor environment.

The services need to be compatible and integrated with a vast ecosystem of relevant services that you may require.

For example, customer relationship management (CRM) software offers more value and benefits to its users if it can be well integrated with other systems such as financing and marketing.

The absence of these other platforms, which you and take advantage of to help boost vital aspects of your business or assist you with your decision-making process, may affect the efficiency of your business activity and productivity.

You should ensure that you obtain clear information on how the service providers offer their services to the users. If how they offer their services is not appropriate, you can migrate to a more suitable Software as a Service platform for your services.

A clear understanding of the provider's partnership and relationship with vendors will help you to make the right decisions while implementing or adopting the right SaaS platform.

3. Protecting the Privacy of the Customers and Maintaining the Integrity of the Data

Security is very important. The main purpose of storing important data and applications on the cloud is to ensure easy accessibility and security.

Before adopting a SaaS platform for your business, you should properly evaluate other customers' reviews about how the cloud provider protects their customer's privacy and how secure the platform is.

Using the right SaaS platform will ensure that your sensitive files are safe, easily accessible, and not easily corrupted or hacked.

Most companies possess sensitive files that are not for the public eye and are unwilling to allow these data to get to the general public. If your company is in this category, you should carefully select the SaaS platform you would adopt.

Software-as-a-Service solutions are mostly secure. On the other hand, they can be more vulnerable if hosted in public rather than in a private cloud.

Take network security seriously because the SaaS application is often integrated with other external applications.

Having your files, data, and applications corrupted because of the Software as a Service platform will cause a major setback to your business.

You need to conduct in-depth research on the best software tools, servers, and available SaaS solutions to ensure you do not make the wrong decisions.

4. Upgrade Process

Regarding the upgrade process, multi-tenant solutions typically offer customers no control over the process. Major updates and upgrades are disseminated to all customers simultaneously or, in some cases, rolled out over a couple of weeks.

On the other hand, single-tenant solutions are more flexible than their multi-tenant counterparts. However, using this solution is accompanied by certain restrictions on what version receives support and the versions that do not.

Selecting the best SaaS platform with the most appropriate upgrade process suited for your business is the most advisable option.

5. Integration

Most companies are subscribing to hybrid SaaS architecture with a combination of on-premises and cloud applications that are integrated.

Suppose the SaaS solution you are considering for your business is not a stand-alone solution but requires integration with on-premises and other cloud apps. In that case, you must find out if the SaaS platform can perform this function before you make any major moves.

You must apply the knowledge of what you require from a SaaS platform to decide if this vital point is relevant to your business. For most businesses, it is vital, but this is not always the case.

Check if the SaaS platform supports integrations or APIs including well-written API documentations. Some solutions allow point-to-point integration via a VPN, while others may require more sophisticated tools like Dell-Boomi to achieve this task.

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