If you work in a finance department, your whole world revolves around making numbers work for your company. Today’s economy means doing more with less, and when it looks like income won’t meet the planned expenses in your budget, it’s time to start trimming the fat. One tactic to help you realize company-wide savings is to use software as a service (SaaS) whenever possible. Here are a few ways that this cloud delivery can make your organization leaner and meaner.
1. Affordability
Your company shouldn’t have to spend extra money on a ton of computing power for the sole purpose of running one program. By putting the burden of hardware investment and maintenance on the provider, SaaS allows your business to redirect those resources elsewhere and eliminate a major expense.
2. No Installation or Updating
Don’t pay to have someone on staff whose only job is to load and maintain software. Since SaaS programs are updated by the provider and are accessible to all users immediately, you don’t need anyone to go around and make sure that you have the right versions installed on every computer in the office.
3. Enable Telecommuting
Cloud computing allows your employees to access applications and files through the web, so why not take advantage of that flexibility by permitting people to work from home? Since telecommuters use their own supplies and work on their own computers, those expenses are eliminated from your company’s bottom line. Studies have even shown an increase in productivity from workers who operate remotely.
4. Flexibility and Scalability
Perhaps the biggest upside that SaaS can offer your finance department is scalability. Typically residing in cloud environments, SaaS can respond to your needs as you see fit: If you need more features, just upgrade – and vice versa – all in real time, without service interruptions.
Related to the scalability, SaaS typically offers seamless integration with other SaaS offerings, without the need for you to buy more software and/or hardware. Just pay for the service you use – at the scale and level of service you require – and the cloud will manage everything for you.
With those perks, you can build a powerful financial tool that is custom-tailored to your financial department’s needs.
5. Slay the Budget Beast
As a finance specialist, you’re constantly charged with finding ways for your business to save money. By taking advantage of the many benefits offered by SaaS, you’ll be doing your part to keep your company on the cutting edge.
Takeaway
Indeed, SaaS can be your financial department’s silver bullet. But before you sign up with SaaS services of your choice, you need to answer these questions:
- Do I really need that silver bullet? Do I need the SaaS solutions for the sake of going cutting edge with our financial software?
- Do I have the backup when things go wrong? (Yes, things could go wrong, even if your software resides in the cloud!)
- Have I checked the TOS, data jurisdiction, data ownership and other issues with the SaaS provider?
Do your due diligence, and you will learn that the finance SaaS is indeed the best investment you can make for your company.