If you are an IT manager responsible for ensuring that your company is up to date with the best software for your industry, it may seem that you spend most of your time researching options and nothing ever seems to be just what you need.

Specialist Software Solutions

This is even more true if you are in the insurance industry, where trying to find the solutions for everyday broker problems is almost impossible. There is, of course, specialist software available for those in the insurance industry, but it either doesn’t quite fit your particular need (a case of close, but not close enough), or requires a full enterprise system install – which is far more than your boss was ever going to allow you to spend.

Hopefully, at about this point, you will discover the world of Software as a Service. However, not all services are created equal. If you look at the options available through companies like https://www.schemeserve.com/ you’ll be able to see that you don’t have to accept an out of the box solution that only offers you a limited number of ‘take it or leave it’ packages.

Don’t Just Settle For a Standard Software Bundle

One of the keys to finding a software bundle that will really work for your organization is flexibility. Being able to find a solution that can actually do exactly what you want, in the way in which your staff already work if possible, means that you will only be paying for what you need, only be training staff on what they use, and streamlining your operations.

Most SaaS software solutions come in modular packages. What this means is the you can pick and choose exactly what you want, and only pay for what you need.

Often when companies are looking at software options, they take whatever is considered affordable, but like upsizing at McDonalds, it may seem like a bargain, but if it doesn’t actually provide all your needs, then what is the point.

Not only can you get modular components, but with the right software provider you can get bespoke solutions that really meet you needs.

Choosing to customize a bespoke software solution may sometimes seem like you are getting less bang for your buck, but in reality, what you are actually getting is exactly what you need. If your firm doesn’t actually need the ability to create beautiful Gantt charts, why pay several hundred dollars extra to have software that does this, even if it is supposed to be ‘free’ if you buy it as part of a package deal?

Although some customized solutions are simply ensuring that your branding is prominent on the software, which is a great option if your software is going to be customer facing, other customizations can change the way the software actually works, not just how it looks. However, if you are going to the effort to have the software customized to suit you needs, ensure that it will actually do so. Watch how the current work is actually being undertaken by your staff, not assume that they’re doing things the way they should be done (click here for research on workflow).

Putting the ‘Security’ in Software as a Service

Another advantage to this solution is that Software as a Service modules are hosted by the software company in the cloud. This means not only do you not have to worry about installation issues on incompatible devices, but that security is handled by your service provider.

Because your SaaS provider is an expert in their field, security is going to be higher than if you allow your staff to install software on whatever device they are using. IT managers won’t be surprised, although a lot of other people are, but people install all sorts of very insecure software on company laptops and desktops. That’s without even looking at their browser history. Although people are usually more careful about what they do with a company device than on their home computer, they are still human, and bored humans are more likely to click the “yes” button and completely disregard any attempt at security when away and installing something to amuse themselves.

Read more on SaaS here: https://searchcloudcomputing.techtarget.com/definition/Software-as-a-Service

This behavior tends to open a company’s servers up to a range of vulnerabilities and puts your customers private information at risk – and your company’s reputation. Being able to increase security by hosting your software on someone else’s secure server makes sense. They have the resources to ensure that any attempt at hacking, denial of service attacks, or other method of trying to breach severs is meet with firewalls and fast action. Although no server is 100% invulnerable, providers of SaaS options are a lot of protected than your internal office server is. You are unlikely to have 24 hour a day monitoring, if you do it is more likely to be a computer algorithm that is able to be bypassed by a clever hacker entering through a backdoor left open by an unaware staff member.