One assumption or concern I hear the most with potential customers about using the SaaS application in the cloud is that they won’t have access to their data when they need it. They are concerned they won’t be able to leverage data or use it in ways that are meaningful. Data is the new currency so its availability is a valid concern. Customers want to know how quickly they can access and use the data, what they can learn from it, and how can they leverage and apply the data insights to grow their business and provide a better customer experience.
While limited data access in a cloud-based platform used to be true, SaaS providers and big cloud technology companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS) acknowledged and addressed that limitation. They now provide services that enable secure, flexible, and agile options for data engagement.
You’ll find today that platform providers like AWS offer many options when it comes to engaging with your data in a secure, reliable, and efficient manner. These options include traditional reporting as well as emerging features such as near real-time streamed data into a data warehouse where you can build your own reports, abstracts, or analytic predictive modeling.
This offering is valuable as it captures data as it changes – no more trying to maintain or update Excel spreadsheets – as you feed other upstream or downstream systems throughout your organization.
And with the cloud-based platform, it’s all very scalable and repeatable. Additionally, the burden of managing and maintaining data moves to the SaaS provider. The time and resources you traditionally put into managing the data via spreadsheets or an in-house model shifts to the provider. This means you can focus your attention on consuming the data and using it in ways to make your business more successful. And feel confident with the integrity of the data (meaning you have the most up-to-date data).
I predict we’ll continue to see more innovation when it comes to engaging with data securely and regularly.
Read the next part in our ‘Top 5 SaaS in the cloud myths debunked’ series:
Top 5 SaaS in the cloud myths debunked
Myth 1: SaaS is not suitable for all company sizes
Myth 2: Security of a cloud-based platform is unproven
Myth 3: SaaS is complex to buy and use
