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One of the biggest obstacles to overcome in the Software-as-a-Service world is the misconception that outsourcing hardware and services means the IT department  is walking on thin ice. As a result the first instinct for those involved in IT is to dismiss the idea in self-preservation. But the truth of the matter is that Software-as-a-Service, when properly matched with your company, will give the IT team more time to do more meaningful tasks that will add more value to your company and be more rewarding for them as well.

Infostreet.com (one of the recommended services of this site) is a company that specializes in providing businesses of all sizes a single suite of services to replace things like Email, Tasks Management, Calendaring, File Sharing, CRM, etc. Unlike other companies in this space they have differentiated themselves in two key ways:

1. All services are modular (can be turned on/off as needed) and all communicate with eachother.

2. All accounts come bundled with an extensive administrative tool set. IT Proffesionals will be in heaven when they open up the control panel and see the dept of configuration and customizable options. From user permisions and access controls to individual application settings, it's all there and all administered by the admin.

So if it' is just as extensive, how is it a benefit? The answer is easy, Speed & Scalability. Your admin can just do things faster and can delegate various admin tasks more easily.

For example if your admin needs to add a new user or modify an existing user, its done in real-time with just a few clicks. Or if your organization is broken up into various functional units such as Finance, Marketing, Sales, Operations, maybe each department lead has admin rights to perform these task to just their group.  Either way is fine and either way can be accomplished with Infostreet.com

No longer does your IT team needs to spend countless hours performing low priority "grunt" work when they could be working on larger projects that have a greater positive impact on the business.

* IMPORTANT NOTE: If you do not have the IT resources to setup your system as you want it, Infostreet will do the setup to your specifications on your behalf!

One of the biggest benefits to Software-as-a-Service is the money it allows you to save and invest back into your business. I am telling you that not only can you get more functionality for your money, but you can also cut costs dramatically enough that you can afford more resources to help you with growing your business like sales and marketing efforts.

Two services I use and recommend to all of my peers are Skype and Infostreet. Combined they deliver key services that I need to run my business at a fraction of the costs of traditional providers. They provide the solutions I need for customer communication and management. Best of all I know that as my company grows and succeeds, the solutions will grow with me as I need them without any headaches.

So what kind of costs savings can you expect? Here is what I am saving.

I get all of this (and more):

• Unlimited North American Calling (Skype - $2.95)
  
• Address Book (Infostreet)
  
• Calendar (Infostreet)
• Conference Bridge
  
• CRM*
• Email
• Employee Directory
• File Sharing
• Knowledge Base
• Mailing Lists
• Portal
• Tasks

I pay out of pocket a total of $27.95 a month.

* Now note I deal with a lot of people so the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) application is vital to me in managing my contacts and opportunities. This service alone is $15.00 per month. If you do not need CRM you would only pay $12.95 per month.

This is the very first question my wife asked when I introduced her to the concept of Software-as-a-Service. I think it is safe to assume many of you have or have had this very same question. Another follow-up question might be - "Won't I end up paying more in the long run?".

Let's make a comparison that most of you can relate to. You have likely all heard of a little internet company called "Netflix". They are the thorn in Blockbuster Video  and other video rental companies' back. Their model is very similar to that of a Software-as-a-Service provider. You pay a flat monthly fee (at the moment I believe $8.99) and that grants you access to their massive library of movies. You can then have them send you 1 DVD at a time which you can keep as long as you need and when you send it back you can get another DVD. You could in theory watch 15+ DVD's in a month all for $8.99.

So as you can see it makes much more sense if you enjoy movies to pay a monthly $8.99 fee than it does to either go out and buy a single DVD or to even go out and rent them. You get much more for your money. You get more selection, and you get to decide how much or how little of the service you want to make use of. Whether you rent 3 DVDs a month or 15+ you will be saving.

Now if you do not rent movies every month then of course in the long run it makes little sense to buy into this type of service. The parallel on the Software-as-a-Service side is that as part of your monthly fee you can be assured that you are always being automatically upgraded to the latest version of the software, it is always secure, and you can always be assured that you will have access to enable any new add-ons the company may roll out. If you would normally go out and buy a piece of software and then never update it and hang onto it for years and years, you likely would not benefit. With that said though, what piece of software produced by a traditional software company never has updates or new versions released? Just think of how many versions of Windows or Photoshop have been released over the years.

Here is a good video created by Software-as-a-Service provider Salesforce.com.

Software-as-a-Service is the term used to describe the types of programs you would traditionally have run on your own local machine but no longer have to. You know which programs I mean, the ones where you would have to check the packaging to make sure your computer meets the minimum requirements, you would then have to install onto your machine, and then of course continually check for updates. Software -as-a-Service instead takes out all those steps. Instead you access the "program" from the web, it is already installed and kept up to date by what is known as a Software-as-a-Service Provider. Rather than paying a large upfront fee, like when you have to purchase a piece of software, you only have to pay monthly a fraction of the costs it would otherwise have costs you. Most Software-as-a-Service providers require no contracts which means you can cancel at anytime. Some even provide entry -level services for free with the option of upgrading at any time.

Software-as-a-Service has been around for many years now in many different forms from single services to entire suites. If you use services such as Gmail.com, Salesforce.com, Appointment-Plus.com, etc. than you are using Software-as-a-Service. Examples of providers who provide entire suites of services are Infostreet.com, Zoho.com, and Google Apps.

A popular term for describing Software-as-a-Service today is "Cloud Computing". The term is used to describe all of the services as belonging in "the cloud". Meaning not installed on any user's individual machine.