The Software Model of the Future
According to a report by Gartner, global IT spend will decline by 8% during 2020 compared to 2019 due to the impact of COVID-19. This is largely a consequence of the necessity for businesses to switch to survival mode instead of focusing on growth. Therefore, maintaining cash flow is of great importance and non-essential spend has been put on hold.
However, some companies have already bullet-proofed their readiness to deal with further lockdown shockwaves and moved their workforce permanently to remote positions. Investments in Cloud applications will grow as they are essential to make virtual and hybrid teams work. Which prompts an important question…
Is your current IT set up supporting the flexibility required for new and hybrid work environments?
Perhaps your concern lies with cash flow, and holding back on making operational upgrades has resulted in retaining more capital at hand. Cash flow is a concern. However, by limiting your purchases you may be missing out on potential cost savings for your business,… or even expose your digital infrastructure to external risks by running out-of-date or inadequate software. You may think this saves money but with a year on year rise of 15% in Cyber attacks carried out on Small Business in 2019, with the average cost of such attacks calculated at £11k*, it could turn out to be a costly mistake.
How Software as a Service and Cloud increases the flexibility of corporate IT:
Keep IT investment risk low
At first glance, it may seem less expensive for customers to invest in a software package once and think this will suffice. However, software licenses are an expensive upfront cost and, in many cases, there are additional costs required later on for updates and new releases.
If company-wide spend needs to be reduced or even temporarily put on hold, investments in Cloud applications and Software as a Service remain an ideal option. As a typical operating expense, these systems are essential to keeping business operational.
Software as a Service (SaaS) offers the necessary cost transparency to keep investment risk low. All updates and new releases are absorbed in the subscription fee.
Scalability remains key!
Don’t lose sight of your long-term goals! The far reaching effects of the pandemic have made it difficult to plan ahead for many local companies but the difficulty has been more keenly felt by IT departments. It’s hard to know just how many new software licenses should be budgeted for when IT teams are facing reactionary internal challenges due to Covid, and when such licenses are needed it is unclear how many of them will be used! Sound familiar? As personnel changes or simply business being forced yet again into another unexpected turn, scalability becomes a key component in leader led decision making.
SaaS investments and Cloud solutions minimise risk. They allow for easy upward or downward scalability in users. Furthermore, you are bound to relatively shorter contract terms, which gives you the freedom to adjust as necessary.
Less complexity – less personnel costs
It is important not to underestimate the sheer human and time efforts needed for traditional software upgrades or IT update projects – especially if you encounter a problem.
Cloud solutions do not require a lengthy and complicated installation process. Quick and easy set ups make these solutions far less complex for users and IT alike. There are little to no resources needed and training is minimal. Time-consuming software upgrades also become a thing of the past, as Cloud solutions are always up-to-date (any severe service outage is a problem for the Cloud host engineers and not you). SaaS and Cloud solutions also allow IT departments to evolve and more easily provide support for a hybrid workforce that isn’t stopping by the office quite so often! Crucially, it allows you, the business owner, to keep and maintain some remote options in a post-Covid world with the visibility and connection a virtual, sophisticated Cloud solution, like Windows Virtual Desktop, can provide. With Microsoft Team integration, you can jump on a face-to-face video call at a single message’s notice.
Other available solutions, like Philips Dictation, provides voice technology SaaS and Cloud solutions. This can help your organisation save time and money, and help you stay a step ahead in an ever-evolving business landscape. Philips SpeechExec Pro Dictation and Transcription Software is a SaaS solution that facilitates workflow from speech to text, allowing for easy setup of individual workflow settings and provides organisational flexibility to support hybrid working. Philips SpeechLive is a Cloud, browser-based dictation and transcription solution which converts your speech to text and allows you to work from any device, anywhere, anytime.
* Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report
If you would like to find out more about how I can help your business, you can contact me at conor@kbsgroup.co.uk.
Conor O’Reilly, Account Manager – KBS Group – Business Development Manager