Software as a Service (SaaS) has changed the landscape for both end-users and vendors, leveling the playing field in many ways. But like any other technology, there are SaaS issues and solutions that you’ll encounter before making a final transition.
Moving to cloud computing is seen as a sign of keeping up with technology, but there are still challenges from it. For example, the end-user may not have complete control over the service since they rely on 3rd party vendors for their mission-critical services.
Here are some of the benefits and challenges that I have found using SaaS solutions. If you want to know more, here is a post about it.
SaaS Issues and Solutions
Integration Issues
Data may be lost or inconsistent if your CRM is not integrated with other systems. This can lead to billing errors and invoices being sent to the wrong people.
Hybrid Infrastructure
Integrating on-premises software with cloud solutions can be difficult. It requires a lot of collaboration between the service provider and IT staff to ensure that everything is running smoothly.
Many SaaS providers offer integration services, but IT managers should take the necessary steps to ensure that their existing systems will work seamlessly with any new solutions. If a provider does not provide these services or an IT team finds it difficult to integrate independently, they can turn for help from consultants who specialize in cloud computing.
Integration Cost
When it comes to integration, companies need the services of highly skilled professionals that may not be a part of their IT team. This can raise implementation costs as SaaS integration cost is quite high and might require hiring external resources such as Integration-as-a Service (IaaS) companies or consultants. The best strategy for cutting these expensive integrations is selecting a solution with seamless functionality and an open API.
Access Control
A challenge for businesses transitioning to the cloud is that their access control and monitoring settings might not be carried over seamlessly. This can cause problems because administrators need complete control of who has what level of access, but they may lose track during a transition.
Time Constraints
Businesses transitioning to the cloud often have difficulty adjusting because they are in such a rush. They want everything up and running as soon as possible, but this can lead to problems with work being delayed or even never completed at all.
Pollution or Saturation
Too many choices can make it difficult for IT staff to find the right solution. In this case, there are too many providers, and they all claim their solutions to be the best. In addition, with 300 different products in one category alone, each with stiff competition from other vendors makes finding a solution challenging.
The IT team can’t sign up for each product and test it out before using the software. So reviews come in handy because they give a more trustworthy opinion on how well products work.
The statistic that 95% of customers read online reviews should motivate businesses to invest time into reading trusted software reviews. Click To Tweet
SaaS Implementation Project Plan: Hyper-specialization
Many SaaS providers claim that they offer an all-in-one solution, but in reality, many of them only excel at one or two things. This means businesses often have to use multiple solutions for different purposes, which leads to hyper-specialization (related to saturation). In addition, integration capabilities can bridge the gap between different systems. Hence, it is important for companies planning on using these types of software products services to ensure their chosen vendors play well with each other.
SaaS Issues and Solutions: Choosing the Right Subscription Plan and Pricing
When considering monthly subscription plans, it is important to remember that you might be paying more in the long run. It’s also easy for a company to hide costs and fees, so watch out!
To get the most out of a SaaS solution, you should look at annual subscriptions for businesses that need more than one year. However, monthly pricing is better if your business needs time to figure things out.
Data Security
One of the biggest challenges in transitioning to cloud-based services is that many people use their passwords for most accounts. So if a provider gets hacked, hackers can also access other customers’ data.
This makes security a serious challenge for all businesses because they have to ensure that their valuable data is safe—different ways of doing this include using 2-factor authentication and encrypting both the storage and transmission of information.
As one of the few reputable providers in this market, Azure and AWS are worth their cost because they offer security not available with other companies. This reason accounts for why 70% of people use these two services.
Conclusion
The global market for SaaS is expected to reach $278 billion by 2022 (Gartner). Click To Tweet
While implementation may cause issues, most are overcome with research, properly integrating, and understanding business requirements. The key factor in determining success or failure when using a cloud service provider will come down to reliability and reputation and knowing the SaaS issues and solutions.
