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As industries leap to meet ever-increasing market demands, profitability targets, and environmental mandatories, the tools being used must be suited to the goals and tasks at hand. 

 

On an industrial scale, digitalization means adopting the mindset and tools to bring businesses forward to the “next” from the “now”. Industry insiders and experts alike emphasize the need to keep up with innovations and adopt tools that boost flexibility, agility, collaboration, functionality, and versatility in how business is conducted. 

Those that don’t are in danger of being left behind, they say. 

Installing individual software to office computers is steadily becoming obsolete. Businesses used to purchase a variety of software suites for every task required, and then have those installed into multiple units of hardware. Today this practice feels bulky, time-consuming, and complicated. 

The SaaS Shift

Sotware-as-a-service makes use of external servers, and functions as a software licensing subscription for businesses. It lets users access the software needed via the internet, instead of having the software itself sit inside one’s computer or data center. 

Many businesses are making the shift to SaaS, and with the way things are going, this is rapidly becoming the new business normal. 

(Also Read: Top 10 Benefits of Going Digital) 

Compared to traditionally purchasing software systems, SaaS frees businesses from installing, storing, and upgrading software from their end, tasks that require constant monitoring, upgrades, and maintenance. SaaS makes operations less complicated for businesses, such as manufacturing, construction, and commerce. 

According to Gartner, SaaS remains the largest segment of the cloud computing market. Its spending is expected to grow 20% to a total of  $247.2B in 2024. Its drivers? Generative AI and application modernization. 

This forecast means that SaaS is rapidly being adopted by major industries and that its benefits are being felt and proven. 

Thanks to this, projections are showing that SaaS’s growth is set to go into the trillions before the end of this decade. 

Software is shifting to meet the SaaS-based consumption model, especially in cases where generative AI, analytics, machine learning, and big data operations are used. 

SaaS Myths Demystified

Still, there are some myths surrounding software-as-a-service. 

The most common of these assumes that SaaS tools only provide only one application. Experts say this isn’t true at all. There is a wide range of  SaaS tools and functions as there are applications, and this is growing by the day. 

Another myth surrounding SaaS is that these tools are less secure and flimsy compared to their traditional software counterparts. Tech insiders say that technical issues are incredibly rare, and there has not been one major breach of a SaaS operation reported. 

Finally, the myth is that a lot of IT professionals are anti-SaaS. This seems to be a common, if almost normal response whenever something comes out to disrupt how things are done. IT professionals understand that there are growing pains whenever something new encourages a shift, and some may understandably be resistant to change. However, there are more who see the value of what SaaS brings to the table. 

Can SaaS Take on Major Industries?

Major industries such as manufacturing and construction can benefit in big ways by adopting software-as-a-service. By modernizing the applications needed to run business, manufacturing, and construction companies are meeting needs aligned with their goals of productivity and profit. 

Here are a few ways Saas does the heavy lifting: 

Improving cost management - SaaS removes the guesswork from cost estimates, which helps prevent overruns. 

Improving overall project management - Schedules, timetables, and supply chain issues are managed better via SaaS thanks to cloud software automation and real-time analysis. 

Improving security - Security requirements such as encryption, controls, and backup features are robust and fully protected. 

How Industries Stand to Benefit from SaaS

The forecast for SaaS is very positive. Industry leaders are citing manufacturing analytics, construction analytics, supply chain analytics, and retail analytics as fully customizable and can target clients wherever they may be found. 

SaaS helps businesses keep track of their important clients and vendors by obtaining the appropriate data, which is integral to forming customer insights to improve services or products. This also helps businesses identify and determine more specific choke points needed to address the market’s more granular requirements in record time. 

As one of the Top 20 EMS companies in the world, IMI has over 40 years of experience in providing electronics manufacturing and technology solutions. 

We are ready to support your business on a global scale.

Our proven technical expertise, worldwide reach, and vast experience in high-growth and emerging markets make us the ideal global manufacturing solutions partner. 

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