Software as a Service

You've heard the hype about SaaS. Does it sound too good to be true? The reality is that there are definite advantages to SaaS, especially for nonprofits with limited IT budgets.

What are the benefits of SaaS?

• Faster time-to-market - The system is ready for you, you can get up and running quickly. There's nothing to install, no software to manage. Someone else worries about keeping the system up. Monitoring, optimizations, backups, and upgrades are all included.
• Reduced investment risk - Services are subscription-based, "pay-as-you-go", you can stop them at any time. The vendor takes advantage of expertise and economies of scale to offer you the service at a lower price than it would cost you to do it yourself. And ongoing monthly expenses are easier to budget for than large one-time costs.
• Focus on your core business - Your budget should be spent on your mission, not maintaining an IT infrastructure. Application customizations are more accessible and don't require programming skills. You can free up staff for more important tasks.
• Get the latest innovations - You won't be in the business of performing complex version upgrades. As soon as a new feature is created you can start using it.
• The power of communities - When you subscribe to a SaaS application, you become a member of a community with a powerful voice. SaaS vendors can easily collect and analyze data about how customers use their applications, which helps direct product development. The community can also be an excellent source of best practice tips, templates, and add-ons.