The current economic climate is not all doom and gloom and downturns actually can represent a fantastic opportunity for small businesses to grow. The key to a small company’s success is by using IT tools and systems to your advantage while keeping costs as low and consistent as possible. Today we will explore how using cloud computing in your business can offer great flexibility and growth opportunities. SaaS (Software as a Service) can transform your small business thanks to its price competitiveness and your internet connection. We will focus on cloud based SaaS providers and how you can use these prospects to create a fully scalable IT infrastructure for a low monthly price. 

 

 

Software as a Service is a form of cloud computing for businesses. In the past, most software and systems would need to be locally installed at a company's office or on individual desktop terminals (for example copies of Microsoft Word would need to be installed on each client’s desktop). SaaS uses a different approach; by utilising both your speedy internet connection and the cloud (external services) to provide a centralized remote based computing service. Your computer terminal instead simply uses a SaaS client (often web based browser) to access all the required cloud based software, systems and computing power which is located off site. 

 

 

There are several benefits of using SaaS in your business, these include:

 

Low Costs - Cloud based SaaS providers offer feature rich computing for a small monthly fee. For example, SaaS can provide access to a comprehensive online suite of desktop applications via just your web browser. Renting access to these online software suites is much cheaper than the expensive licence fee that installing software based desktop application such as Microsoft Office may cost.

Flexibility - Collaboration and flexibility are one of the strongest reasons to implement SaaS in your small business. As your organization grows, you will likely be hiring more employees who will need to collaborate with your established teams. Cloud based SaaS systems have been created with flexibility and collaboration at its heart, ensuring you can easily share and work on projects together in different locations and even using different devices.

Security - Backing up your data every second is another vital advantage of using SaaS. No longer will you worry about a hard drive dying or your laptop getting stolen losing your data. Cloud based computing fortunately do not have these issues for you to worry about. SaaS providers also use the latest security standards to protect your files and encrypt your data from 3rd parties. 

 

 

There is currently a comprehensive choice of SaaS providers available. You should consider your company’s needs first and compare which service is the most suitable and offers the most features and software for your small business. Below is a selection of popular SaaS providers for small businesses:

 

Google Apps - Offering highly acclaimed products and storage such as Google Docs (desktop applications), Google Drive (storage, backup and collaboration), Gmail and Google Calendar.

HP SaaS - Bespoke cloud SaaS solutions with focus on speed, uptime and support.

Salesforce - Possibly the most popular cloud CRM system by users with numerous solutions.

Zoho - Feature rich CRM service focusing on collaboration and productivity.

 

We hope that this guide has helped to explain the benefits and opportunities that cloud based Software as a Service can offer your small company. You should now feel more confident in exploring SaaS systems and implementing them in to your organisation. As you small business grows, you can easily scale up this cloud IT infrastructure without hidden IT costs or expensive software upgrades. SaaS offers a win-win situation for the future of your enterprise.