Hosted Business Model FAQ

FAQ

Q: What is the Business Model?

A: The Business Model is an integrated electronic Model of your Business. It incorporates and interlinks the Process Diagrams describing your processes, Objectives / Action Plans / Key Performance Indicators / Responsibilities and optional Risks. Also existing Documents and Forms can be linked to the relevant Process or part of the Model.

The original Business Model is based on the relevant standard (i.e. ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001 or industry specific ISO 13485, EN AS 9100 etc)

Q: What is the Hosted Solution or Hosted Business Model?

A: The Business Model is loaded onto our dedicated Server with security controls, virus checking and backups. Your employees have direct access to your Business Model using Internet Explorer or a Web Browser and can change key aspects of the Model.

Q: What is On-Demand or Hosted Solution or SaaS (Software as a Service)?

A: For a set monthly fee, SaaS provide easy, fast, low-cost access to expensive sophisticated tools and applications. The applications are on protected Servers and are accessed over the Internet rather than being on the Company's central Server. Therefore the Company does not have to worry or pay for extra expensive IT software, hardware, networks and personnel.

Q: What are the Benefits of On-Demand or Hosted Solutions or SaaS's (Software as a Service)?

A: The benefits of SaaS are far-reaching, from increased reliability, performance and user adoption to lower upfront costs, faster deployment and a remarkably tangible ROI. Citrix recently completed a Survey to identify the single greatest benefit of the SaaS model. Here are the results:

• Automatic Updates and Maintenance (15 percent)
• Lower IT Staff Requirements (14 percent)
• Lower Upfront Costs (14 percent)
• Greater ROI and Cost-Effectiveness (9 percent)
• Faster Deployment (8 percent)
• Increased Usability and User Adoption (6 percent)
• Improved Application Reliability and Performance (6 percent)

72% of the Respondents appreciated the many benefits but were divided as to the most important one.

Q: How popular is On-Demand or Hosted Solutions or SaaS's (Software as a Service)?

A: Is it going to happen? - definitely since it already is very successfully. So much so that Microsoft is now preparing its own web-based version of the Microsoft Office products.

The experts all emphasise the very rapid growth. It is an approach that has gone through significant experimentation in the last 10 years. Now there are very successful applications like Salesforce.com for Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

The only real area of disagreement is the speed of growth. Some like Gartner estimate that 25% of all business software sales will be from SaaS services within 5 years. Others consider that this will be achieved within 2 years. It is definitely a boom time for SaaS.

Q: Why is On-Demand or Hosted Solutions or SaaS's (Software as a Service) becoming so popular?

A: Traditionally reason for outsourcing IT systems was that an external provider could give less expensive, improved reliability and better service than companies themselves by applying economies of scale. Whilst SaaS applications have significantly grown, it is only in the last 5 years that SaaS has been accepted and grown dramatically. The reasons for this acceptance are due a number of changes to our working practices, including:

• Computers are on most desks. Conventions are now accepted from navigation to web browsers. This has resulted in faster learning of new external software so less training and support from IT experts is required.
• Computers are now a commodity: Initially, mainframes computers were considered as corporate advantages. Later, the software was considered as strategic. Now, it is the business systems combined with data (i.e. customer and order data, processes, and financial information) that is important. Hardware and software costs are now considered as costs and therefore they are an opportunity for reducing costs and outsourcing.
• Applications have been standardised: Mostly workers are using standardised applications (e.g. Microsoft Windows & Microsoft Office). A word processor, a customer contact page or a diary program are all so common and used that most computer users can change easily from one software package to a different one. This has been demonstrated by the increase in web-based customer contact, diary, and other programs that have been launched in the last 5 years.
• Traditionally to change a process required a modification to the software code. But recently, applications-particularly web-based ones- can be setup from internal software switches (rather than code changes). This allows businesses to make many different versions of business process based on a common software basis. Many SaaS suppliers offer a wide range of customisation of the functions.
• A specialised software developer can aim at a global market: However hosted solutions can immediately reach the worldwide market, making specialising in a particular segment not only possible, but advantageous. This allows SaaS suppliers to provide a more relevant solution than traditional software sellers
• Internet is now sufficiently reliable: In spite of occasional problems, increasingly Clients are willing to use the Internet to receive business applications.
• Internet security is now acceptable: Now that SSL has been widely adopted, businesses can reach their software without the need to setup and manage VPN's or end-user setups.
• WAN's capacity and speed has grown dramatically in line with the Moore's Law (more than doubling each 2 years). Now the improvements are extending to the slower local infrastructure. Additionally with the improved service quality of networks, people and businesses now consider and use remote access and applications.