The products we list on compareHRIS.com offer ASP/SaaS/Cloud, purchase, or both pricing options. If you purchase your HRIS products, you will maintain your data on your own servers. ASP HR Information Systems allows the customer to maintain their information on the provider’s server and access that data remotely.
Advantages of ASP / SaaS / Hosted HR Software Products:
Contingency Planning
I live in Tampa, Florida. In 2004, our state was hit by four hurricanes. I have had a number of customers ask about contingency plans in case of a storm. This is one of the advantages a Hosted system can offer; the data is not on your server, so as long as you have Internet access your data will be available to you.
No IT Involvement
Other advantages are automatic updates and freed server space at your location. Your IT staff won’t have to maintain or house the data with an SaaS HR system. They won’t have to install updates either, since the provider maintains all such details.
Lower Up-Front Costs
With SaaS applications, you will typically pay some type of minimal setup cost, but once the system is live you will pay a monthly amount per employee. Costs range from $2 to $5 per employee per month. So the upfront cost is less but over time (usually a couple of years) you end up spending more for an SaaS solution than if you’d purchased the product outright. With that in mind, you need to weigh the importance of the other benefits.
Advantages of Purchasing Your HR Product
The disadvantage of Hosted systems is that over the long term, they can be expensive when compared to purchasing a system outright. If your company plans to use the solution you pick for at least five years, it will be far more cost-effective to actually purchase the application. And if your company is looking to lower the upfront investment and pay over time, remember that most companies will offer a lease to own option on the software.
About the Author
Clay Scroggin worked in the Human Resource and Payroll Software Industry for more than fifteen years. During that time Clay, and those who worked with him, assisted hundreds of HR professionals with their software needs. In 2007, Clay began working on compareHRIS.com, a site dedicated to assisting HR professionals with their search, selection, implementation, and use of HR software. The site contains several tools to assist HR professionals with their research including a Free HRIS Selector Tool, an HR Software Blog, and over 300 HR and Payroll related articles.
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