Etz Blog - SaaS

Recruiters tend to trust their instincts when assessing candidates. However, judging the right software solution with which to transform agency efficiency is less about instinct and more about insight. Get the right software and it can save thousands of pounds, get it wrong and much time and money may be wasted.

Find out more and download our new free guide: How to get more for less from recruitment software here.

As technology evolves at breakneck speeds and applications exist for almost every imaginable manual process, a key consideration now when looking for new software is should you purchase an in-house software package or one that is delivered via the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model?

Software such as Etz Timesheet Solutions and salesforce.com are SaaS solutions. They are hosted in the cloud (servers that aren’t in your office) and typically all you need is a web browser and username and password to access the software.

So what considerations do you need to make when considering moving your recruitment software to the cloud?

What are your requirements?

With any new software requirement should be defined up front. What do you want the software to do? Who would use the software? How long would you need the software for? When that’s defined you can start researching solutions.

Why SaaS?

Implementation is quick and requires no server installation. Once installed, all information can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection. Access does not require any more equipment or knowledge than what is needed to reach a desired website.

SaaS is hosted in the cloud with a dedicated team keeping servers up and running. This reduces the burden on your IT department and in many cases has more uptime than a hosted solution.

How much does it cost?

SaaS solutions are usually delivered via a subscription model. It may be charged per user/per month or per action, so in the case of Etz this may be per timesheet. There are two advantages to this:

1. Organisations only pay for what they need…if they process fewer timesheets in one month they don’t pay as much, if people leave the company they can easily switch those accounts off.
2. Traditional software is usually accounted for as capital expenditure. There are usually large up front costs to buy licenses, install the software, ensure the right servers are in place and to undertake training. As SaaS applications tend to be delivered via a subscription this can be accounted for as an operating cost with a monthly fee. The software is ready to go and in some cases all that’s needed is a username and password and the software can be used.

What about security?

There is a concern about security in the cloud, usually due to a lack of control organisations now have as they don’t know where their data is. In fact in most cases it’s the opposite. SaaS servers in the cloud are highly secure and most are hosted on different servers in different locations in case there is an outage at one. The security and infrastructure for a cloud solution is more robust than most in house servers.

What happens if the server with your software on goes down in your office? What if there is a burglary or a fire? Would you lose everything? How quickly would you be up and running again?

What are the other benefits of SaaS?

Other benefits of SaaS include:

• Your IT department doesn’t need yet another piece of software to manage
• Solutions are usually quicker to set up
• No paper handling is required
• No extra investment in hardware
• Updates are applied automatically meaning no extra software needs to be installed

Should you make the leap to SaaS?

SaaS means speed, simplicity and consistency. If you want a solution that is quick to get started, offers a flexible payment model and which can keep up with your organisation’s demands it’s worth exploring SaaS for your next software purchase.