More than just a subscription model applied to traditional ways of doing business, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) represents a fundamental shift in the way enterprises leverage application functionality. Departmental solutions can be configured easily without custom programming, and partner ecosystems complement core functionality with specialized features that address specific needs.

Rapid deployment and the elimination of up-front customer costs for hardware, configuration, and installation greatly reduce project risk. The success of the SaaS model can be seen in strong and growing adoption of a broad spectrum of solutions from CRM to online video. The rapid growth of SaaS in ECM is driven by factors like:

• Multiple ECM technologies such as document management, BPM, imaging, search and more can be thoroughly integrated once by the vendor, with the cost amortized over thousands of customers, providing powerful economies of scale.
• Platform upgrades take place in the background, transparent to the user. There are no additional or unexpected costs for maintenance and upgrades, just a single predictable subscription fee that’s ideal for departmental budgets.
• Departmental applications are configured, rather than programmed and compiled so customizations occur at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional systems.
• SaaS systems are available for free trial prior to committing to a subscription, so the organization can try out aspects of the system before making a decision to subscribe—further reducing the risk of post-sale disappointment.
• Using a unified SaaS ECM platform simplifies administration, including user administration, security policies, single sign-on, and the enforcement of compliance policies for records management.
• A single Web services interface across applications simplifies integration and maintenance.
• The initial cost to deploy a SaaS-based ECM solution can be as little as 10% of the initial cost of traditional installed software and hardware and the ongoing monthly subscription fee is often less than the maintenance cost for traditional software. 

Learn more:  Experience the Power of the ECM Platform

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