Business development is always something pleasure to see. For me as an entrepreneur there is nothing more pleasant than to see that my idea develops over time and effort.
Business development means not only great satisfaction but also more and more difficult challenges. Recruitment process, entering new markets and so on. One of the biggest challenges caused by business expansion is the proper management and automatisation of all processes inside the company. Beside conceptual work it also needs proper tools to help the company grow and operate at full capacity.
It is necessary to ask yourself one important question when deciding what software to use to manage your company. What is better for us - cloud-based SaaS (Software as a Service) or dedicated software?
I will try to briefly describe the differences between both solutions and the key factors to analyse during the decision process.
1. What do you really need?
The biggest advantage of dedicated apps is that they suit specific client needs perfectly. SaaS apps are usually created to suit the needs of majority of companies from a given branch.
Let me ask you a question - Is your company big enough to really need a dedicated solution? Companies from the same sector usually have similar needs so SaaS solutions may cover the majority of your requirements or even all of it.
On the whole, the list of extraordinary features gets bigger along with the size of a company. Big companies have so clearly defined needs that standard SaaS apps may be insufficient and inadequate for them.
2. Price
If you decide to buy a dedicated solution, be ready that it will be really expensive. Many people believe that they will only pay for app-building. Nothing could be more wrong. In 90% of cases your company will need a software programmer to modify the code on a daily basis and for maintenance purposes.
Though monthly payments are a standard for SaaS apps, working on the code and maintenance is the provider's job. Additionally, in case of any crashes or malfunctions, the response time is much faster for SaaS solutions. SaaS apps providers normally have a support team which deals with such situations as quickly as possible. Fixing malfunctions in dedicated apps may take very long when there are no IT specialists in your company to do it.
3. Development
Many companies think that dedicated solutions associate with multi-year usability. Even if it can be used for many years, don't forget that business environment tends to be quite disruptive these days. The Internet changes and there many new ideas every day. Generally, after less than a year you will need a programmer when you decide on buying a custom-made solution.
On the other hand, SaaS applications are constantly developed by a special, dedicated team of IT specialists. Additionally, you are able to quickly change your software provider when new, more effetive solutions enter the market.
In conclusion, dedicated solution is a good option for big companies with untypical needs and money for support and development. In every other case I recommend using SaaS solutions as long as they cover the great majority of your requirements.
I wish you all successful purchases.
Good luck!
