Scoping the Benefits

Opting for a SaaS approach to talent development enables organizations to focus more closely on their core business. They gain peace of mind from obtaining talent and learning-management solutions that help them develop their employees better, manage their performance data more efficiently, and free up their IT team to focus on the core business.

SaaS deployments invariably enable businesses to reduce software implementation costs. This is largely because the main alternative in this context, namely, a behind-the-firewall implementation, requires companies to invest in costly IT infrastructure (servers, databases, load balancers, routers, switches, and software licenses), as well as IT staff dedicated to their maintenance.

For companies with urgent training or talent-development needs, SaaS solutions offer the added benefit of much shorter implementation cycles than are typical with behind-the-firewall software. Instead of having to undergo a protracted installation process, businesses can usually get SaaS deployed in a matter of weeks.

There are several reasons for these rapid deployment speeds: there is no software to install; vendor services and training engagements are less involved; and implementation services are delivered around a standard solution within a fully known hardware and software environment. Taken together, these factors lead to markedly greater efficiency and reproducibility.

Procurement processes are also typically simpler with an SaaS-based approach.
SaaS offerings are subscription based, require little, if any, capital investment, and can often be procured entirely through training or HR departments.

Another key benefit of deploying SaaS is the ability to achieve speed of innovation. Unlike on-premise deployments, SaaS technology allows companies to upgrade instantly and seamlessly to the most recent software versions. This enables them to take advantage of the latest innovations in the software while future-proofing their investment.

Issues to Consider

SaaS deployments can offer a broad range of advantages to businesses wanting to adopt learning and talent-development solutions. That said, while SaaS is often the more affordable option, there may be circumstances where a behind-the-firewall perpetual-license purchase makes more sense. Equally, there are several important issues that businesses should reflect on before migrating to SaaS. Outlined below are some of the most important.

Data Security

Talent development data is often business critical and highly confidential. Imagine the likely repercussions were a company to lose all of its training compliance data. It is little wonder that data security is the most common roadblock to adopting an SaaS model.

Fortunately, the reality today is that security measures have evolved to meet the requirements of most organizations. Nonetheless, data security needs to be a key part of the purchase decision for any prospective buyer.

Business customers should ask their vendor to provide documentation of both their facility's physical security and their network's logical security (e.g. internal server and firewall setup).

Performance and Network Reliability

When a business rents an externally hosted or SaaS solution, it must depend on others outside the organization to ensure its systems are up and running. In the same way that it might press a vendor on its security measures, it also needs to have an in-house IT specialist to help evaluate the vendor's hosting environment, its service-level agreements (SLAs), and disaster-recovery plans.

When evaluating the vendor's service-level agreements, businesses should also assess the potential provider's monitoring and evaluation processes and be prepared to ask for customer references. It may seem like a lot to remember, but for most companies, SaaS solutions will be more dependable than their own internal resources.

Mandatory Customizations

It is important to note that the SaaS model is not conducive to changing the software's code to modify functionality. Simply put, organizations should carry out an in-depth scoping of how the vendor's out-of-the-box solution can meet their needs. They may also want to evaluate how they can configure the software to map to their process.

Integration and Scalability

One of the reasons the talent-management and learning-management industries have taken so long to move to the SaaS model is because these systems usually have to integrate seamlessly with an organization's HR system. Evolved, interoperable web services now provide sound, secure data synchronisation for most HR and learning organizations. Businesses should ensure, however, that their vendor of choice has the tools to support such integrations.

Few clichés are used more in the software industry than "Buy software that can grow with your business". For some solutions, an SaaS offering can be a perfect try- before-you-buy solution. This all depends on how scalable the vendor's solution is and whether the solution has a reasonable upgrade path.