Should you use a SaaS product with a fixed plan?

Software as a Service (SaaS)is becoming more popular every passing day. Especially with access to fast Internet and high-performing servers, it is the go-to solution for small to large-scale enterprises. Even individuals on a personal scale can benefit from it. Every business can save a lot by switching to SaaS solutions.

In the Software as a Service model, the application is hosted on a centralized server, and those accessing it use a web browser to reach the server. That means you do not have to invest in machines with very strong resources. A simple and cheaper Chrome-based laptop is enough to let you access the more powerful SaaS servers from anywhere in the world.

Besides offering low-cost heavy-duty cloud-based computing, the Software as a Service server can be accessed from anywhere through the Internet. Investing in specialized hardware and then purchasing heavy-duty laptops or desktop computers is a considerable expense. On the other hand, it is quite affordable to invest in low cost, low maintenance laptops or desktops and acquiring a fixed price Software as a Service solution.

The Pros of Investing in SaaS Products With Fixed Plans:

Compatibility and Affordability:

Businesses require specialized software for sales, purchase, inventory, fleet management, payroll, and personnel management, and the list goes on. In the past, every company had to purchase a software license for each computer, install the software on each machine. Making sure that the hardware was compatible with the software while at the same time, making sure every laptop or desktop had the latest data available. If you had to access it if you are not in the office, you wouldn’t be able to see, edit or update the data. You have to work on the computer with the software installed to make any changes, additions, or deletions. With SaaS, you do not need to worry about compatibility issues. Whether your software requires 16GB of RAM, 128GB of disk space, and a ton of processing power, or a mere 1GB RAM, 1 GB disk space, and only 800 MHz of processing power, it isn’t your concern.

The software is installed on remote and very capable servers; they are configured by experts employed by the SaaS company.

All you need is a simple laptop with an Internet browser and a decent Internet connection. It is affordable and compatible with any operating system that uses a standard Internet browser. Chromium-based laptops and desktops are becoming popular and that’s because there is so much software available as a service that all common tasks to specialized tasks can be completed on the cloud rather than on a fixed machine.

Availability:

The next best thing about SaaS is the availability aspect. Your data is available online to you from anywhere in the world. All you need is a working Internet connection, and you can access your data from anywhere. You can do complex calculations from thousands of miles away sitting in a motel room with an old laptop. Due to the recent pandemic, most of the businesses had to switch to working from home. It was only possible due to the cloud computing and availability and accessibility offered by SaaS.

Maintenance:

With servers hosted elsewhere, you do not need to worry about maintenance costs, while, with affordable laptops or desktops you are perfectly capable of achieving the best results. The SaaS provider’s employee experts and technicians are responsible for keeping their servers and networks running. You, as a customer, do not have to spend anything on maintenance.

Expandability:

Do you require more resources? Have your clientele grown significantly? Is it the business season? Some businesses see a boost in some months. Like around the holidays or festivals. If you are one of those, you can request and purchase a higher-tier service without investing in hardware. The SaaS provider company handles all the expansion in resources that you need. All they charge you is for a higher-tier package. If you do not require higher resources anymore, you can always switch back to your old tier.

The Cons of Investing in SaaS Products With Fixed Plans:

Although the number of pros outweighs the cons, there are some which are worth mentioning.

No ownership:

The biggest of all cons when it comes to cloud computing is no ownership. You do not own anything on the server physically. The software isn’t yours; the hardware is not yours, nor is the staff employed by you. If the SaaS company goes down, goes under or goes completely bankrupt, you can lose everything. Yes, there are redundancies planned by SaaS companies and if something happens, they will give you ample time to download, backup, save and transfer your data, but the software that you were using is for sure gone.

Physical Security:

You do not get to play any role in the physical security of your data, you have no control over who is allowed to physically access your storage farm, you cannot prevent nor try to stop anyone from stealing the storage drives. Since SaaS is offered by large companies and big budgets, they normally have excellent security in place. However, it is not as secure as being able to pull the plugin from your office and stopping any hack or prevent anyone from having access to your data.

Access Loss:

Loss of Internet connection is very real. From time to time, certain factors can cause Internet outages. You will lose complete access to your data and software during this outage. Whether this outage is at your end or at the server-side, you will not be able to do anything about it.

Although there are some very real cons as to why you should not invest in SaaS products, the Pros are far more useful and promising. It offers you mobility, ease of access, and big-time savings on hardware costs.