Along with the rapid rise of other competitive new tech services, the idea of Platform as a Service or PaaS is gaining a lot of ground within the business community. Lots of IT managers are loving this option for the convenience and easy planning that it offers, and for its ability to help control costs. Here are four of the biggest benefits of using Platform as a Service vendor offerings in a business IT plan, items that executives and other leadership teams should look at before making important IT acquisitions or building for the long-term future.
Application Support Without Full Licensing
One of the attractive things about Platform as a Service is that clients can get the application support and platform functionality that they need without purchasing a full license for the platform, or going through the lengthy processes of installation. With platform functionality delivered over the web, signing up for platform use is quick and easy, with a lower amount of cost and effort up-front.
Executable Support for Limited or Temporary Projects
Many Platform as a Service options offer support for building the completed files that a given platform supports. Whether it’s graphic design, coding, or some other software environment, Platform as a Service can be a way for businesses to experiment and test executables without physically installing the platform in their local offices. This can be great for situations where a company has not fully committed to a platform, or where IT staffers just want to “try something out†before making a final decision. Even in cases where a company may definitely want to source one project through a particular platform, it can still make a lot of sense to go with a Platform as a Service strategy, rather than “locking into†full on-site installation.
A Smaller Hardware Footprint
Another prime benefit of Platform as a Service is that, by outsourcing the storage of the platform software, businesses can achieve a lighter hardware footprint and use less physical hardware assets at a location. Building full platform functionality into a local office can require more servers, more data storage, and a more expensive IT budget, as well as an additional maintenance burden that can bloat a corporate budget. Businesses are often looking at precisely these kinds of strategies to cut costs, where employing a year-round, salaried IT staff has its own hidden expense and where outsourcing platform support to vendors can save a lot of money in the long run.
Flexibility
Businesses often purchase Platform as a Service systems by the month, or through other flexible contractual agreements. This helps when the needs of the business change, for example, if IT managers decide to move to a different platform for new web projects or internal networking functionality, or when certain business processes are scaled down and don’t require the same amount of IT support. For businesses that have purchased platforms outright, this kind of scaling down may be tough, but most vendors will support these changes with easy alterations to a contract, leaving clients with more money to push toward other types of allocations that may contribute to growth, brand visibility or other coree business processes that will eventually drive revenues.
All of these considerations can move managers toward a Platform as a Service philosophy and setups that can provide more room for change and agile deployment of IT resources. Look at all of what today’s vendor community has created to offer businesses a lot more versatility at a time when hiring comes with its own uncertainties and financial risks, and when temporary, hosted solutions can often help trim an enterprise expense sheet.
