SaaS (Software as a Service), which first started in the 2000s, is a new way of dealing with software as a service. Companies no longer buy a licence, entitling them to use it, but they subscribe to a full software service. This service, in addition to the actual use of the software, offers hosting, installation, configuration and operational maintenance.
This plan is especially adapted to software on a client/server system via a web interface because the application is hosted on the supplier’s server.
With My Intranet, in the SaaS plan, companies can benefit from a very complete hosted service for online leave and expense management requests.
The advantages of SaaS as an HR software are numerous :
- the company no longer has to manage the technical part which is entirely subcontracted to the software solution supplier. This allows the company to concentrate on their core business without wasting time on the implementation and maintenance of software tools.
- there is no longer any initial investment on hardware and licences (CAPEX) since the company pays a subscription. This evens out the cost in the long term. In addition, the overall budget is known in advance and is relatively stable, as opposed to buying licences, which often implies a certain number of extra necessary but unforeseen services : updates, training, technical support, etc…
- the SaaS service is often more easily accessed than it is via an intranet. This is quite useful in the case of companies with a rather mobile population.
- the time needed for implementation is reduced as it is the SaaS service supplier who masters this task entirely. For example, the installation and configuration of My Intranet takes only a few hours.
- the company is much free going from one service to another if a solution does not suit them, as it is not blocked by the necessary return on investment of a software licence purchase.
As for the drawbacks, these are rather limited :
- the company no longer entirely masters its internal software tools.
- in theory, by relying on an external service, data confidentiality and access security may seem at risk. In practice, for many companies with a different core business, resorting to a specialized supplier to host and master the solution perfectly ensures a high level of security and confidentiality.
SaaS is widely developed in HR solutions. Indeed, HR processes are more and more dematerialized. The advantage for companies in terms of money and time saving is significant and immediate as there is no heavy investment in the first place.
The final advantage of SaaS, it makes the management software accessible to all companies, however big, since the service access cost depends on the number of users. In addition, as the supplier takes care of the technical part, any company, regardless of the IT department size, can easily use the solution. Thus, HRIS, formerly reserved to large companies, is now accessible to all. This makes it possible to address the problems identified during the mapping of HR processes.
With SaaS, the HR management software becomes a usable service, just like any other type of service. Its cost really meets the needs and consequently the return on investment is optimized.
