The majority of businesses will have to face the decision of opting for either on-premise or hosted software. In the current era of increased virtual and remote working, hosted or cloud software is becoming more attractive. Research found that in 2018 26% of EU enterprises used cloud computing and 55% of those firms used it in relation to financial and accounting software applications or customer relationship management, for example. However, when deciding between hosted or on-premise solutions, there are many things to consider, from cost and (remote) accessibility to management and scalability. Let’s look at each of these considerations in turn and how the two options compare.
Management
An on-premise credit management software application runs on the company’s own server, with the IT department taking care of maintenance. This type of solution is under your own management so you’re responsible for installing, updating and upgrading it yourself. While this means your company is in control of everything, it entails the necessary costs for the hardware and IT staff.
Conversely, when using hosted credit management software, you have a license for the software, but the hardware is outsourced. This means that you don’t have to worry about hardware maintenance as the hosting company takes care of that. It means updates and system checks are also taken out of your hands and done automatically by the provider.
Cost
With hosted solutions, businesses have greater control over costs. It doesn’t require huge amounts of investment and as it doesn’t require hardware as there aren’t continual maintenance costs or replacement cycles. Instead, you pay for a license to the software and servers as long as you use them. In fact, the cost-efficiency of hosted solutions is so great that 61% of IT leaders cite cost-cutting as the top reason for their organisation to adopt cloud software.
Implementation
Hosted software solutions are able to be implemented quickly and put to use immediately. On-premise solutions, however, take longer to implement. Implementing on-premise software can also involve more risk and requires a substantial amount of planning to avoid anything going wrong. This is particularly true if the business lacks in-house expertise and experience in implementing new solutions and hardware.
Scalability
The scalability of a system represents how easily it can grow with a company. If the business hires 10 new people within a year, a system must be able to cope with that. Hosted applications are much more scalable than their on-premise counterparts as they simply require the purchase of additional licenses. This is a quick action that grants the user is immediate access to the credit management software. Scaling on-premise solutions, on the other hand, requires organisations to buy and install additional hardware.
Compliance
In credit management, storing data securely and in a way that complies with all the necessary regulations is vital. A major advantage of hosted credit management solutions is that they are built to comply with regulations. At Onguard, we are experts when it comes to data regulations and are up-to-date with any changes to those regulations which we build into our product roadmaps. This means our customers can be assured that by using our hosted solutions their data is secure and compliant.
When weighing up the pros and cons of hosted and on-premise software, hosted credit management solutions come out on top. There are often great costs and efforts associated with maintaining your own environment with on-premise software solutions, but it also requires significant in-house IT knowledge. By choosing hosted credit management software like CreditManager, you negate the need for additional hardware and take a lot of the cost and effort out of the equation. Onguard’s hosted credit management solutions are also more reliable, as they don’t require significant periods of downtime to be updated, unlike on-premise solutions. With hosted credit management software like CreditManager, companies can focus on using the solutions and let the experts take care of the rest.
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