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SaaS and the Changing Face of Business

It is of no doubt that technology has made our lives better. Computers, mobile phones, advancement in gadgets, etc. all are significant today. Similarly, the way businesses function is also filled of technological advancements. Faster and efficient methods are what take different enterprises ahead.

Central Hub of Resources accessed
by various Enterprises
Image Source: Flickr
Among such various advancements is the Software as a Service (SaaS), which has been gaining mileage over the past couple of years.  The growth of technology has boosted the demand for the infrastructural arrangements as well. As it is difficult to occupy all the IT infrastructure, it has given rise to a trend of businesses relying upon other service providers for technological requirements. SaaS providers take the responsibility of providing a particular set of solutions to the enterprises.

Even when we use products and services as individuals, we don't like boundaries. When we get the maximum flexibility, that's when we like the product most and enjoy using it. For example: When we use the Google Drive, we like it because we get to access and manage our files online. We don't have to be dependent on our desktops (the infrastructure). Similar is the case with businesses. They prefer convenience.

Consultative selling deals with providing solutions to customers as an expert consultant of the field and going in line with the customer's needs. Companies have been moving into this kind of business because for obtaining solutions, companies prefer as much convenience and customization as possible. Moving from the enterprise selling methods, consultative selling has taken forward business' in achieving their objectives, by utilizing tools which are utmost suited to their business model.

Growing opportunities through
the Cloud
Image Source: SiliconAngle
Listed below are some key drivers of the SaaS industry, which are fuel and have paved way to consultative selling approaches.

Integration - Each business looks out for integrating a particular software solution into their business. And this is what SaaS vendors have been aiming at. There are various enterprises such as Salesforce, Basecamp, etc. who provide very customized solutions. These enterprises work as expert consultants in their services and offer solutions according to the customer. Enterprises are much more interested in making minimal changes to their business.
For example, Basecamp is a provider of project management services. They rely on packaging and product suites, offering them storage and other optimizations. This becomes flexible with different kinds of projects and companies.

Pricing and Cost - SaaS has been taking the whole industry from license to subscription based models. Since more and more competitors are there, businesses need to make it cost-effective. Subscribing to the services, helps through low costs in suitable time periods. This also ensures as a better option for clients, because they need not shell out huge sums of money at a single go. It gives them to analyse whether a particular solution is helping them or not.

According to the statistics developed by Staff.com, it is estimated that the global revenue of SaaS would be close to $20 Billion in 2014. To be sure of the huge potential, it should be noted that the top SaaS organizations such as Oracle, SAP, Salesforce have acquired various other businesses like SuccessFactors (by SAP), Taleo (by Oracle), Assistly (by Salesforce). And in another PWC report, it has been mentioned that 90% of customers would be moving into SaaS in the coming year. Thus more and more enterprises are trusting themselves with SaaS because of successful results across various fields.

The benefits that enterprises enjoy by using the SaaS products are plenty. They get leverage for their business, with greater customer turn outs. Various advantages are better supplier management, healthier customer relationship management, efficient resources. The savings from implementing SaaS could be utilized at some other areas, and brought productive to the business.

With growing avenues inside cloud computing, both on the technical and business front, SaaS is definitely in the game. At the end of the day, the customized solutions offered through SaaS are sure shot solutions to manage your business, effectively, efficiently, and with better returns.

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