There are many factors to take into consideration when you are considering purchasing or using a subscription Software as a Service (SaaS) or a skip software free download to maintain records for your business. One that frequently comes up for stakeholders is should we use something that is installed in-house or something that is cloud based.
Developers such as ourselves have opted to build a cloud based SaaS products over install based client server setups in-house as the maintenance burden is significantly lower. With changing expectations around licensing fees utilising this deployment methodology is one way of reducing costs.
Be Supported
It allows developers to fix bugs and introduce new features with far more agility than other deployment models. This means that if you need some development done, you need a bug fixed or something has gone wrong we are able to fix it with out logging into your network.
Utilising a skip software free download from the internet may provide you with all the features you need but if you need changes or support who will you turn to.
Customer Experiences and Integrations
Many products for this industry do not provide an API for integrated websites to use for automating bookings. This means that customers may put booking through when there is not enough stock available or other situations that may not be desirable.
Using a cloud based product that provides these APIs and provides integrations with Accounting packages such as Xero and others will make automating many processes a breeze. These integrations will mean that you invoices don't need to be entered after the fact and reconciliation can be done in seconds.
Access On The Go
Using a free download installed on your PC means that you can't access your records while you're on the go because you may not have the laptop on you. With a cloud based system you can carry it with you on a tablet or phone with ease.
This will mean you'll be able to keep an eye on things if you manage to get away for a short break. This should give you some peace of mind that you can make sure that the wheels keep on turning while you're away.
Data Security
No matter where you put your data it's security is paramount. Keeping your customers information private is vital. While it may seem more secure to have the data locally, it is possible that precautions may not have been taken to stop someone with remote access from accessing the data stored on the machine.
When your data is stored by a SaaS provider you are paying for security experts to make sure the information is always secure.