4 Ways SaaS Products Have Changed the Technological Landscape of Asset Management
As businesses hunt for viable platforms to manage assets better, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provides viable and purposeful solutions to keep overhead costs in check and scale up efficiently.
SaaS is a rapidly growing industry with cloud-based computing and state-of-the-art technology that has digitized several business processes. Gartner reports that the global end-user spending on SaaS will likely reach $597.3 billion in 2023 from $491 billion in 2022.
SaaS is changing the way businesses use software, especially for asset management. Businesses now have access to a complete suite of tools that helps streamline their processes through enhanced efficiency and easy access to the software’s functionality.
The flexible SaaS environment allows users to explore options that best suit their business model and achieve high-end automation to improve operations.
There are multiple ways SaaS products are beneficial for asset management.
1. Minimal cost of ownership
Unlike traditional software solutions, SaaS platforms are subscription-based which eliminates the need to acquire an in-house system- saving costs.
By subscribing to a SaaS solution, you can pay on an annual or monthly basis without having to hire IT staff to manage the software. With the pay-as-you-go model, businesses can upgrade or downgrade with time depending on their needs and feature requirements.
By eliminating upfront investment and ongoing maintenance costs, SaaS products provide a cost-effective solution that empowers businesses to efficiently manage their assets without compromising quality or functionality. Further, SaaS products are available on trial so you buy if you like the product only – saving time and investment.
2. Real-time asset tracking
Manual asset tracking methods are obsolete and no longer viable. SaaS helps automate the tracking process through QR codes and barcodes. This functionality empowers businesses to know the location of their assets at all times to mitigate asset loss.
Each asset is assigned a unique identifier which allows precise location tracking. With asset management software, you can centralize asset information and update asset availability location-wise.
This way, asset managers can quickly identify discrepancies, such as missing or misplaced assets, enabling prompt action to retrieve or replace them. You can deter unauthorized asset use and improve asset utilization through location and ownership tracking.
3. Continuous customer support
SaaS providers offer ongoing customer support, making it easier to seek assistance whenever an issue arises. You do not have to wait for a long time to resolve an issue as product experts are prompt with their replies and advice.
The support team can troubleshoot issues, and provide step-by-step instructions, or offer solutions to minimize disruptions and ensure uninterrupted asset management operations.
Likewise, you are informed of feature updates and releases so that you stay updated with the recent software updates, and the SaaS support team is always there to provide technical training to use the product.
By providing effective customer support, your SaaS providers foster good customer service and help users adapt to the software better.
How can SaaS be leveraged to maximize operational efficiency
The SaaS industry is ever-evolving and on a growth trajectory. Today, businesses can save massive amounts of money by simply investing in efficient and faster cloud-based technology. Asset management is one of the most important niches where SaaS provides long-lasting solutions. Here are some ways how SaaS facilitates smooth asset management:
1. Multiple user access
Inter-departmental collaboration is imperative within a business for better asset management. For example, finance, sales, IT, and marketing have assets allocated to their departments specifically.
A SaaS platform will improve communication between departments by enabling multiple simultaneous logins from various locations. This way, users can manage assets department-wise, improve asset allocation and team collaboration.
You can also assign roles to the team members and give them role-based permissions that help protect data and reduce the burden of asset management on a few specific employees.
Multiple user access further improves task management as each team member can access the relevant assets and functionalities required to perform their assigned tasks, optimizing efficiency and accountability. Members can be notified to highlight important tasks to them which helps ensure streamlined communication.
2. Enhanced data analysis
Traditional asset management methods rely on paper-based records, or tedious spreadsheets prone to human errors and oversight. By maintaining accurate records and leveraging data analytics tools, users can derive valuable insights from the data and make decisions.
Data-driven insights help businesses track their performance, and quickly identify areas of improvement. Visualizations, such as charts, graphs, and interactive dashboards can be used for this purpose that help display information in an appealing and easily understandable manner. With well-presented data, you can conduct in-depth analysis- staying aware of your important business operations.
Reports are another useful way incorporated in asset management systems to visually present data. Reports can be customized and used to run numerical calculations, such as total cost of procurement, to see how well specific departments are performing.
3. Customization
SaaS platforms are flexible as they allow users to customize features based on their requirements. Users can request new features or upgrades if they feel the need to have advanced capabilities that the software does not currently offer. With customization, businesses can tailor their asset management processes to have more useful workflows aligned with their business values.
Moreover, the ability to customize the user interface is highly beneficial as it allows users to personalize their assets information. For instance, they can choose to show certain metrics, events, or planners on their accounts that can help staff and managers to stay updated with everyday happenings.
The interface can be customized as per each user needs- enhancing user experience and productivity. In this way, the users can also expedite their work and have more accessibility to features they use on a daily basis.
4. Integrations with other platforms
To provide a holistic user experience, SaaS systems like asset management software generally provide integrations with other platforms, such as Zendesk, Dropbox, Jira, SAML, and more.
These integrations facilitate seamless transfer of asset data from one platform to another along with offering capabilities that might be beyond the scope of the SaaS product. In this way, users enjoy additional functionalities that streamline their workflows and manage their assets efficiently.
For example, by integrating with an interface like Zendesk, users can speed up issue resolution by creating tickets and linking them to an issue on their SaaS account. Such an integration helps customer support promptly escalate the issue and resolve it. Not only do collaborations with other software increase accessibility, but also improve the overall product experience.
Asset management landscape revolutionized
SaaS products have unprecedented potential that can transform the asset management industry. By embracing SaaS solutions, businesses can optimize their asset management processes and perform at their best.
Enhanced collaboration, security, increased accessibility, and well-rounded customer experience are some prerequisites of a SaaS platform. So, to remain aligned with the current technological landscape, it is vital to stay aware of the changing cloud computing trends and adapt wisely.