Colocation was the preferred option of the majority so far. However, during the recent encounters with hurricanes, global pandemics, and resurgent contagions, enterprises were compelled to think of long-term resolution for such business disruptions. The fastest solution and a permanent remedy to such show stoppers is cloud migration. Cloud solutions allows businesses to quickly jumpstart their operations within a short span of time as compared to traditional disaster recovery mechanisms.
Cloud services can be availed in many formats, such as Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). However, SaaS is the most popular option in Cloud services.
Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud operations save the day for the majority
Mass scale lockdowns, almost overnight, due to contagions reining havoc caught all business enterprises unawares. Many had to book heavy losses due to keeping their businesses unattended for long periods of time as their employees could not reach their offices due to state-imposed statutory measures and ill health. Lives are important so are livelihoods. The well initiated in the cloud paradigm “Played the Houdini” and were quick to migrate to SaaS cloud operations.
What is the SaaS cloud model?
The SaaS cloud allows users to subscribe to selected applications for a subscription fee. Availed in a pay as you use model, the SaaS cloud is easy to implement, easiest to use, and the fastest to deliver results.
Accessed using a thin client or a computing device with normal configuration, SaaS models allow you to work on high-end applications, such as engineering applications, graphic & animation design applications, office applications, etc., without having to upgrade the local computing device.
During the pandemic and post-pandemic period, the use of cloud has accelerated across almost all business sectors. IT spend that was reserved for enterprise software upgrades was shifted to Cloud migration by the majority.
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the cloud spend rose dramatically in the first quarter of 2020 itself because of the agility and scalability ingrained in the model. The cloud model further entailed savings due to migration from CapEx to OpEx through the pay per use discretion.
Different SaaS modes of cloud operations:
The SaaS model offers different options. Some prominent being:
- Desktop as a Service (DaaS): Employers and enterprises can preselect the standard applications that they want their employees to work, such as MS Office, on to create different DaaS formats. These DaaS formats can be replicated across departments, units, and sections, as required, in a pay per use mode.
- Applications as a Service (AaaS): Very specific applications, such as high-end engineering tools and User Experience Design tools, can be accessed by enterprise users and students in a pay as you go mode on hourly or monthly basis.
More SaaS modes can be availed as quick fixes for collaborating across geographies and time zones with work from home and remote operating teams.
- Content Collaboration platform: Content repositories can be shifted to the cloud. By using APIs, the cloud content repositories can be integrated with existing business applications. These cloud content repositories empower users towards remote collaboration.
- Meeting Collaboration platform: SaaS cloud can be used to meet and chat with globally distributed teams. The cloud collaboration platform can also be integrated with existing business applications
- Virtual Contact Centres: Entire contact centers can be based on the cloud. It allows inward and outward communications with customers through different communication modes, such as email, chat, cloud telephony, and social media.
- Virtual Private Network or VPN Connection: Cloud VPN is highly scalable to suit the online load. It is secured through MFA or multi-factor authentication.
Advantages of SaaS applications:
- Simplified operations that can be instantly jumpstarted
- Secure framework that is integrated within the enterprise framework
- Cost efficient pay per use model and predictable expenses
- Encrypted data in storage and in transit
- Seamless collaboration across globally distributed teams
- Anytime, anywhere access
Conclusion
Cloud enables businesses to maintain business continuity through thick and thin. SaaS cloud operations work wonders in terms of generating the desired SaaS configuration and availing it quickly in a pay per use mode.
From the regular MS Office computing operations to the most high-end professional service applications used for engineering services and user experience design, everything can be availed over SaaS cloud. Even during unprecedented times such as natural disasters and pandemics, cloud enables jumpstarting the stalled operations in a matter of hours.
