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SOFTWARE-AS-A-SERVICE OR ON-PREMISE AS A SOFTWARE MODEL?

3 min. reading time

26 February 2021 · Jonas Hansen

W hat is the difference between Software-as-a-Service (SaaS for short) and on-premise software models? And what does your company need? We'll get to the bottom of these questions in this blog article, using tour planning software as an example.

When it comes to route planning, companies still rely far too often on chance. Wrongly, because even with just a few regular tours, time and money are lost. With a suitable tour planning software, this can be counteracted. Once companies have decided to optimize their scheduling and tour planning, the next step is to ask whether SaaS or a software purchase makes more sense. We will show you what advantages and disadvantages tour planning software as SaaS or On Premise has for companies.

ADVANTAGES OF SOFTWARE-AS-A-SERVICE

SaaS is becoming increasingly popular in practice. No wonder, because this software solution offers many advantages. With SaaS, software applications are offered as a cloud-based service. Usually, this service is provided by vendors as a subscription model. As a result, companies have only low initial costs for configuration.

In addition to the cost factor, the minimal effort for the using companies is also decisive, because the maintenance, monitoring and backup tasks lie entirely with the provider of the software solution. Unlike many other IT implementations, SaaS is quick and easy to set up. So companies can soon get started with automated route planning.

SaaS also offers companies easy scalability. You only pay for what you actually need. If demand increases, SaaS can simply grow with the company.

Continuous updates (e.g. of maps), which are carried out automatically, round-the-clock customer support from the SaaS providers and remote access to services from any device are further advantages that speak in favor of using SaaS as tour planning software.

ADVANTAGES OF SOFTWARE-AS-A-SERVICE

Subscription model with low initial costs

Easy
scalability

Maintenance, monitoring and backups are performed by the provider

DISADVANTAGES OF SOFTWARE-AS-A-SERVICE

Since SaaS is offered as standard software, fewer individual adaptations to the needs of companies are possible. As a cloud-based software solution, SaaS also only works with Internet access. Therefore, before deciding on a solution, companies should first think about what functions they expect from a tour planning software and where and how it will be used.

ADVANTAGES OF ON PREMISE

Another option for professional tour planning software is on premise operation. With On Premise, i.e. a one-time purchase, companies host the desired software themselves. This, of course, comes with a number of advantages, as it gives companies full control over their tour planning software. The functions can be individually adapted to the company's requirements.

The goal of On Premise is to have a software solution that fits exactly. All decisions, as well as all costs and setup and maintenance work, lie solely with the company. This means that On Premise can be used for any length of time; there are no subscription periods or notice periods. Another advantage of On Premise is that it can be used without Internet access.

DISADVANTAGES OF ON PREMISE

However, On Premise is significantly more cost-intensive than SaaS. Companies are faced with a high investment, especially for the setup of On Premise software. The introduction usually takes several months and should also be taken into account when planning personnel requirements.

Since the responsibility for maintenance, monitoring and regular backups lies entirely with the company, the need for employees is also increased after installation. Another cost factor is the expensive high-performance processors, because professional route planning requires a lot of computing power. So the individuality of On Premise comes at a price.

Another point that companies should consider when introducing On Premise is redundant server hardware. If this is not available, a server failure would significantly disrupt or even interrupt operations.

The required third-party licenses are also usually very expensive. As a result, On Premise offers poor scalability.

CONCLUSION ON TOUR PLANNING AS SAAS OR AS A PURCHASE

So both types of software have their advantages and disadvantages for route planning. Regardless of which software solution companies choose, the goal is for it to take care of route planning completely. Mileage savings, more orders and less personnel effort can be achieved with both software solutions.

However, more and more companies are opting for SaaS as their scheduling and tour planning software. This is understandable, as even the standard functions of web-based tools usually offer a wide range of options and cover all requirements. Especially for small companies, SaaS is usually the right choice, because this software solution pays off from just a few tours and employees. Also, the effort associated with the setup and maintenance of On Premise solutions can rarely be managed by small companies.

However, whether a company ultimately decides in favor of tour planning as SaaS or as a purchase should always be made dependent on the company's goals and the needs of everyday work in the respective company.

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