Ok so we all use software in our personal and work lives but are you maximising the benefits and the return on investment you get from the software you are utilising in the Block Management industry?
I believe most people would agree that good software is designed to make the day to day life of those that use it easier and generally enable them to be more efficient and ultimately more productive and that great software is designed to provide a solution that addresses the pain points of the user in the specific industry they work in and adds value to them, their customers and other stakeholders.
But what is the best way to deploy and access software for you and your business?
On-Premise software versus Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
The differences between the two will help determine which might be the best fit for your business or maybe a hybrid approach may suit you better.
Implementing and accessibility
SaaS is accessed via the internet, instead of having it installed and maintained through local computer hard drives that may be located in your home or office location (On-Premise). Those who use SaaS are able to access it through a web browser of their choice, anywhere, anytime and on any computing device and implementation is normally a relatively quick process.
On-Premise implementation is not only different, but is typically a longer process. It features in-house installation – generally hosted and accessed at a company’s office location and computers which cannot be accessed outside of company grounds or require extra expense and complexity to access via virtual private networks.
Maintenance and Support
Your chosen SaaS software provider manages access to the application, which includes performance, maintenance and security, helping relieve you and your team of stress, especially if the team is small or simply does not exist.
As far as On-Premise software is concerned, your business is responsible for everything, including deployment, support and maintenance of the software which can be a big responsibility for you to have because of potential issues that could arise and having to work quickly to solve them, especially if your IT resource small or simply does not exist.
Total Cost of Ownership
SaaS costs are typically based on a subscription licensing model and the company using the software only needs to pay for the applications that they use with none of the maintenance and upkeep costs, and the price adjusts up or down depending on how much is consumed is very useful for budgeting purposes and optimising cashflow as business needs change.
On-Premise software is usually wholly owned by the company and often represents a significant capital investment to purchase, install, and deploy. Ongoing costs and maintenance are also wholly assumed by the company.
A report by Nucleus Research* showed that SaaS delivered 3.2 times the return on investment compared to On-Premise and the payback period for SaaS deployments is 2.2 times faster than On-Premise.
In conclusion
The majority of companies that provide Block Management services are small to medium sized businesses and SaaS is a great option for them to consider as it does not require large sums of money to invest in IT infrastructure and resource for maintenance and support and allows them to scale as they grow while freeing them from the worries of having to manage everything manually.
When selecting a software provider, amongst other considerations, it is worth understanding who are the people behind developing the software, do they have relevant industry experience in Block Management? If they do they are likely to understand the day to day challenges and the various financial, administrative and workflow activities that the software needs to address and therefore are likely to have designed software that makes block management easier.
*Nucleus Research Inc. Research Note: Document R208, December 2017
Dominic Jackson, Managing Director at Blocks Online Limited
