The Benefits of SaaS Over Homegrown Systems

3 minute read

Why are more governments investing in software-as-a-service? 

Modernizing legacy systems tends to be at the top of the list for the majority of government leaders. Adopting cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) technologies is ubiquitous across industries, and government is no exception. But, it’s important to evaluate your organization’s unique needs as you consider SaaS options. Esper is a cloud-based SaaS company, and we’ve seen our fair share of homegrown systems, often built out of frustration with existing tools in the marketplace. In this guide, we outline the benefits SaaS can bring to your organization to support your agency’s modernization strategy.

First, a quick primer on SaaS. Software-as-a-Service or “SaaS” means your agency pays a licensing fee to use software developed outside of your organization. The SaaS vendor is responsible for delivering the agreed-upon technology (usually defined in a Statement of Work), training and setup, any custom work, and the ongoing maintenance of that software.

Commercially available SaaS solutions offer agility, security, compliance and reduce your team’s dependence on agency IT resources. SaaS technology also regularly releases ew features and enhanced functionality, enabling your agency to stay up to date with industry best practices in software.

Some organizations choose to build their systems in-house in an attempt to control the configuration and keep costs low. Unfortunately, most homegrown systems quickly become outdated “legacy” systems due to ongoing, difficult maintenance requirements and a lack of IT resources necessary for upkeep. While legacy systems may “get the job done,” they almost always lack the latest features and support  offered by modern SaaS companies.

Other challenges with homegrown systems that must be considered are governance, compliance, calendars, market factors, workflow, approval notification, delegation, access rights, user groups, integrations, and system performance – just to name a few!

Here is a more in-depth look at the benefits of SaaS over homegrown systems.

Prioritize Your Time Wisely

Stay focused on policy, not paperwork. Spend more time researching and evaluating the policy landscape by taking advantage of robust research, collaborative drafting, engagement, and analytic modules built by your SaaS provider. When your team doesn’t need to worry about the technology, you can dedicate more time to subject area expertise.

Free Up Technical Resources

It’s the SaaS vendor’s job to keep the platform secure and release new functionality as your organization evolves. Empower your IT resources to focus on real operational problems, not building and maintaining a complex policy management system. 

Administration and support for homegrown systems are largely dependent on your IT team. Oftentimes, the overall maintenance is strictly dependent on a very small group of engineers who built it, and the turnover rate for these teams can be high. This means institutional knowledge is lost and the administrative overhead of maintaining and updating a homegrown system exponentially grows over time. 

Resolve Support Issues Faster

Internal issues can often take a while to resolve with legacy systems, whereas SaaS vendors are required to solve a problem within a specific timeframe, typically specified in a ‘Service Level Agreement.’ This allows your organization to stay focused on the real policy tasks at hand, not distracting issues with an unknown fix date.

Over time, the legacy system turns into a repetitive, complex headache. Keep in mind that if the programmers who built it leave, the institutional knowledge leaves with them and is lost for those using the system.

Stay Modern And Innovative

To stay ahead of market competition, SaaS organizations must continuously innovate – something your organization might not have the time or resources to do. Look for a SaaS provider committed to innovation and ask about their innovation pipeline. Do they share regular product releases and solicit feedback from customers on how to make the product stronger?

Build a foundation for the future by investing in SaaS technology that allows your organization to scale with the rising demand for modern, collaborative workflow tools.

Save Money In The Long Run

SaaS technology comes with annual costs, but the long-term cost savings are worth it. Not having to staff, build, fix, and maintain an internal system will always pays off in the long run.

Depending on the workflows, complexities, number of users, etc., homegrown systems can have large upfront costs. Besides the infrastructure such as the hardware, software operating system, runtime environments, backup, storage costs, and constant upgrades, they also require a lot of builds and test effort compared to cloud-based technologies.

Over time, SaaS technology for the policy lifecycle can keep costs down and increase ROI. Incorporating SaaS into your modernization strategy helps you focus on your most important tasks at hand, and allows SaaS providers to empower you in your role.