Software as a Service (SaaS)

We offer a range of hosted solutions, known as Software as a Service (SaaS), in which we hold your data and related software on our secure servers, allowing you to access them both over the web.

To the end user there will be no apparent difference between Software as a Service and if your data/software was installed locally. In fact the only difference you will ever notice is that it is cheaper and easier.

Benefits of Software as a Service

The benefits of using Software as a Service are vast. Listed below are just a few examples of why more organisations than ever are considering it.

Reduced Costs

• Everyone wants to reduce costs and Software as a Service has two main elements that aid in pushing them down.

   

• Lower IT costs - Because with Software as a Service we host everything on our servers, you not only don't need to worry about getting the right hardware and installing software, but you won't need to pay for it either.

   

• Lower costs for usage - One of the key drivers behind Software as a Service was to make it cheaper for the end user. With a range of flexible pricing options, we are happy to continue this tradition.

Everything is always up to date

• Up to date software - New versions of software are forever being released and most people find it tedious to go through the upgrade process. With Software as a Service, we update the software, so you will always be on the very latest version, without ever having to lift a finger.

   

• Up to date data - Data gets out of date very quickly and this is especially true when it comes to address data. Consider a few of the following:

   

    •  Residential property name changes

    •  New commercial outlets opening

    •  New properties built

    •  Old properties destroyed

    •  Street name/postcode changes

   

• With Software as a Service, we update the data on a regular basis, so you will always have the very latest information available to you.

Identical data used by all

• Because Software as a Service provides the option for all people within your organisation to gain access to the same address data, you can be assured that everyone from your customer services, through to your distribution team will all be using identical data.

   

• This removes the possibility of errors and allows for the better tracking of your engagement with the public.

Removal of data silos

• Many organisations will store data wherever it is required. You will have addresses in your CRM, your marketing team will have databases of contacts and your accounts department will have contractors details listed. You will most likely find that you will have the same addresses stored countless time, each taking up expensive, and ultimately unnecessary space.

   

• Software as a Service removes these data silos as we will hold all of your address data and all you staff can access it whenever required.

Offer services wherever and whenever

• Because Software as a Service is accessible over the web, all you ever need is an internet connection to retrieve your data. You could be in a high-powered board meeting or on a beach in Barbados, wherever and whenever, through Software as a Service, you will still have access.

Addressing the concerns about Software as a Service

Over the years, concerns have been raised about Software as a Service, and perhaps once, these were valid. With advancements in both technology and understanding. Software as a Service is as secure and cost-effective as if you were locally hosting.

Security

• The security of your data is of paramount importance and with numerous tales of 'lost data' making the headlines over the past few years, you have to be careful whoever you are.

   

• Software as a Service takes this into account and all data is held on secure servers, with a variety of security measures in place to restrict unauthorised access.

   

• The Software as a Service offering from Aligned Assets that is available through Symphony SinglePoint provides you with instant access to the address component of your data, everything else i.e. all personal data will be held by you, on your systems. This means that through Software as a Service, no personal data will ever be accessible.

Cost

• Software as a Service is pitched as being cheaper than the more traditional method of local hosting, but it is fair to ask whether this is really the case. Why would any company want to cut its own margins and provide the same for less?

   

• The answer is that Software as a Service is cheaper because it is what people want, and although it might mean that the provider gets less per company, without change, that company will go elsewhere.

   

• For too long IT has been over priced and disguised as being so complicated that companies had to pay extortionate prices. This is no longer the case and Software as a Service is facilitating this move into the modern age.

Disruption

• Anyone who remembers the internet when we all had dial up connections that were slow and would drop out on a regular basis might be wary of using Software as a Service because it works over the web. Modern broadband is not only fast, but it is also reliable, whilst at our end, we can offer guarantees about the resilience of our servers.