Staffing Software Use through SaaS Increasing

More companies are now using human resources and staffing software in the form of Software as a Service.

The most recent InformationWeek Analytics survey found that 47 percent of companies are using SaaS, and of those, three-fourths consider the service to be extremely or critically important to their organizations. SaaS requires the software to be maintained by the provider, which frees up resources for companies to focus on other projects.

Companies no longer solely use SaaS for sales force automation and customer relationship management, but also for purposes related to human resources, Web presence, e-mail, service desk, collaboration, financial and backup.

Although customer relationship management was cited as the number one use for SaaS, human resources and staffing came in a close second. Staffing software via SaaS has the ability to be configured and functional within a short period of time and complements the need for a traditional applicant tracking system.

Of the respondents using SaaS, 59 percent consider it a tactical point solution, while 32 percent acknowledge it as part of their long-term strategy. About 37 percent of companies said the best reason for using SaaS is how quickly it can be implemented, followed by capital expense savings at 28 percent and operational expense savings at 25 percent.

About 60 percent of companies that use SaaS say their solution is performing the same as or better than conventional applications. And while only 13 percent of companies currently spend more than 20 percent of their IT budget on SaaS, more than one-third are expected to spend that within the next 18 months.

Of the companies that don’t use SaaS, 39 percent cite security as the biggest reason for avoiding it, while 31 percent say data ownership is their biggest concern.