Software management can take up a lot of time for many IT professionals, from dealing with the details of the software licence to the logistics of keeping up-to-date versions and ensuring staff members only use legal copies.

Due to the market proliferation of software as a service (SaaS), however, businesses may be able to take an easier option when it comes to software management, according to Adrian Steel, head of infrastructure management at Royal Mail.

In addition, Steel said SaaS allows businesses to pay only for what software they use.

Administration of staff on the network is also made easier, as Alan Lee-Bourke Chief IT officer of Glasgow-based charity the Wise Group, found out when he moved over to using cloud software.

"Provisioning an extra 200 people took about an hour: you just go to the management console, type the names in and press ‘go’," he told the Register. "The extras show up automatically on your next bill."

When tasked with removing ex-staff from the system, he found SaaS management was just as straight-forward.

"De-provisioning was just as simple," Lee-Bourke said. "It took about half an hour. All that cost was removed from the business within a week and we had no infrastructure costs to worry about."

Steel added that SaaS also could offset costs incurred when upgrading or replacing desktop computers at a business, as SaaS programmes operate on remote servers.

"The step-change in performance just isn’t necessary anymore," he said. "And this is only getting more profound if you are running virtual machines."

Written by Chris Tate
 

SaaS offers simplicity for business software