How to Complete SaaS With the Best PaaS Strategy

There’s a Software as a Service app for most needs nowadays. Email, file sharing, CRM, online collaboration, project management – these are just a few examples. Users like SaaS apps because of their convenience. They can access them immediately with no involvement from IT. In a dynamic project environment with schedule, budget, and competitive pressures, SaaS apps can be seductive.

Yet, the biggest strengths of SaaS apps are also their biggest weaknesses. Sure, SaaS apps are ready to use for everyone. But this also means software that is specialized for no one. For email, for example, this may work. But, on the other hand, for estimating, scheduling, and tracking diverse projects with different needs in 10 different locations, while interacting with clients and partners and integrating project intelligence information into overall portfolio management, you need a better solution. Businesses are in demand of powerful, scalable IT infrastructure that can support future technologies and growth.

SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS cloud strategies

SaaS is one of the three main types of managed cloud services. The differences between these services are in what is provided for you and what you must bring to get business value from them. Here’s a quick comparison.

• SaaS (Software as a Service)
  You bring nothing but your data. You use the SaaS application provided via the web or mobile network. The provider stores your app data. You accept the availability, security, and integration (if any) offered, as well as maintenance and upgrade schedules. This requires careful consideration of who owns the data.
  
• IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
  The provider offers hardware resources/virtual machines on a pay-per-use basis. You bring what you need in terms of operating systems, databases, middleware, applications, and data for your digital transformation. The provider only supports and maintains the hardware/VMs. The rest is down to you.
  
• PaaS (Platform as a Service)
  You access a resource platform that can include systems, middleware, databases, and apps of your choice. The provider manages this platform for you, including data storage, security, and maintenance upgrades. In addition, you can develop your own apps and leverage integration between apps and data on the platform.

6 key business project needs that a SaaS cloud strategy can’t meet

The limitations of SaaS apps can make them unsuitable in the following contexts.

1. Company and project goal alignment. An enterprise needs overall control of its projects while empowering teams for local decisions. Unfortunately, individual SaaS apps can lead to unwieldy silos of project data. But a PaaS solution from LoadSpring can offer centralized management of all its apps, data, and resources with the agility and flexibility to meet the needs of your line of business. Teams contract quickly up and down as needed.
2. Project app agility. Constant switching and multiple sign-on for different project SaaS apps are a drain on team productivity and patience. By comparison, the LoadSpring Cloud Platform delivers agile, centralized access to project apps and data to your project teams instantly, wherever they are.
3. Software your way. App maintenance, integration, versioning, and upgrades should fit in with your project requirements and schedules, not vice versa. SaaS apps don’t give you the choice, but the LoadSpring Cloud Platform does. You get a clear, effective command-and-control dashboard that puts you in charge.
4. Data control and security. SaaS data security is only as good as what the provider offers. Export and ownership of SaaS data can be problematic. On the other hand, when your data is in your custom environment on the LoadSpring Cloud Platform, you own the data. Your data is safely stored for everything from real-time usage to static or cold storage that is rarely touched. LoadSpring’s zero-trust policy, 8-step process, and SOC 2 Type II certification ensure your data is secure.
5. Flexible resourcing. In a unified PaaS environment, it’s easier to manage and modify allocations of resources to projects compared to disjointed instances of SaaS apps. The centralized design of the LoadSpring Cloud Platform makes operations like bulk user updates and re-use of software licenses between projects easy.
6. One-call support. With LoadSpring, support in the cloud is complete. You only need to call one number for any question or issue about any platform resource. We also offer a proactive knowledge base with self-service that spans the entire platform for users who want to learn online or reach a resolution for themselves.

What’s the future for SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS?

Market research firm Gartner predicts that demand for each of the three types of cloud service will continue to grow. While SaaS is currently the largest section and projected to grow to $117.7 billion in 2021, PaaS is forecast to grow at a higher rate of 26.6%.

PaaS synergies are an important part of this growth. For example, LoadSpring Cloud Platform now offers LoadSpring ProjectINTEL, a new project intelligence delivery plan that combines cleansing your data, identifying what data is not compliant, building data lakes with analytics, and business intelligence (BI) strengths. By providing real-time visibility across project lifecycles and aggregated legacy data with actionable insights, LoadSpring ProjectINTEL helps you accelerate your time to market and boost the bottom line of your project business.

What else does LoadSpring do for you?

LoadSpring Cloud Platform and managed cloud services also offer you the following major advantages:

• Future-proofing with the latest technology and experienced cloud technicians to manage it
• Custom integrated services handled by LoadSpring, so you can focus on business growth
• 24/7 infrastructure and network monitoring and management for robust, secure service
• Comprehensive service-level agreements with coverage on all levels for business continuity
• Disaster recovery managed services with guaranteed uptime SLAs
• Continual evolution and innovation of the industry-leading project business cloud platform to support your digital transformation.

Start your cloud journey with LoadSpring and our PaaS advantages for you today!

LoadSpring’s expertise in managed cloud services is unequaled. If you’d like to find out more, click here to contact us today. Or call us directly: US + 1 978-685-9715 | UK + 44 800 088 5889.