Technology has become such a driving force for success in today’s business environment that it is important for small businesses and start-ups alike to keep up with technology so they don’t fall behind and lose their competitive edge.

Many small businesses have already made the move to SaaS (Software-as-a-service) solutions due to the many benefits they provide. These include fewer upfront costs, vendor managed updates, and increased accessibility. Detailed below are guidelines to implementing SaaS for small businesses.

Choosing the right SaaS for your business

When implementing software that your business depends on, you need to make sure that it meets your requirements and offers all the features you need to achieve your business objectives. Does the software fit within your budget? Does the provider offer training or good system support? How does the SaaS compare to other providers? You need to do your research and see how the SaaS is going to solve your problems. Try to get the provider to show you exactly how the software is going to benefit your business. Take advantage of the free trial if the provider offers it, so you can see for yourself if the software meets your needs or not.

Have backups of your data

Most SaaS providers will have procedures in place that prevent data loss. But nothing in the cloud is ever 100% secure. There is always the risk of cyber attacks that can lead to outages and permanent data losses. That is why there is a need for you to do your own backups, so you don’t have to rebuild everything from scratch when the worst happens. You should have a separate copy of your inputted data stored in a different cloud location for safekeeping, as well as an offline backup in case you lose internet access.

Reliable internet access

A major advantage of using a SaaS solution is that the software is accessible from almost any location with an internet connection. However, you will need to be connected to the internet in order to use the service, as working offline is usually not an option. It is important that all users of the service are able to get a constant internet connection in order to avoid delays in inputting and processing of data from the cloud. So make sure that you have an agreement with your internet provider for reliable internet access.

Security measures

Having good security measures in place is very important when implementing SaaS. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to know your email (or username) and password and they will have access to all your data. To ensure only authorised users have access to the service, you may want to work with your SaaS provider to only allow the service to be accessed from certain devices or IP addresses. Also recommended is using two-step authentication for all email accounts, this will make it harder for hackers to break into your email account and using it to recover your SaaS account or change passwords.