Advantages of software as a service for companies

As-a-service offerings are accompanying us in more and more areas of life and are making a decisive contribution to more specialized services and more efficient processes. 

In this interview, Bernhard Günthner, Managing Director of Kontron Technologies GmbH and EVP IoT Software & Solutions, reveals what the emergence of Software-as-a-Service means for companies, what advantages the change brings and how we, as an experienced IoT system partner, are helping our customers to reduce costs and stay on the road to success.

Question: What does Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) mean and what does this service consist of? 

Bernhard Günthner: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is omnipresent today and this has fundamentally changed the relationship between corporate customers and software manufacturers. Put simply, SaaS describes a delivery model for software applications in which the required programs or functionalities are provided via the Internet. As the name suggests, the digital products are offered as a service. Customers subscribe to the software from a reliable partner instead of buying it, running it locally or developing and maintaining it themselves. Customers obtain access to the ordered functions and services via a secure online platform. 

Question: How significant and future-proof is this development?

Bernhard Günthner: SaaS is linked to the success of cloud computing, which, according to a recent study, is already being used by 50% of German companies¹. The migration to cloud resources helps companies to reduce the burden on their local systems and storage infrastructure. SaaS as a cloud model represents the next stage of this adaptation, in which companies not only acquire passive storage space, but also active solution expertise. The numerous advantages of this collaboration are becoming interesting for more and more sectors, especially in production, and are therefore making SaaS an important growth market. McKinsey and Company even predict that the value of the sector as a whole will triple by 2030². Without taking part in this speculation, we can confirm that these services are increasingly in demand from our customers. 

¹ https://www.ifo.de/fakten/2023-07-12/unternehmen-nutzen-cloud-computing

² https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/the-saas-factor-six-ways-to-drive-growth-by-building-new-saas-businesses

Question: Why is the switch to SaaS such an attractive offer for many companies today?

Bernhard Günthner: SaaS services combine a number of technically and economically appealing advantages for companies. To some extent, these also overlap with the reasons that generally speak in favor of a successful digital transformation. In any case, the most important arguments for corporate customers include the simplified and dynamically adaptable scalability of the offering, easier access to their own data from different locations and increased cost efficiency. No additional personnel resources need to be built up, as the system partner takes over the administration and support of the software. 

Question: How does a Software-as-a-Service offering differ from traditional software solutions?

Bernhard Günthner: In contrast to traditional, purely on-site software solutions, which are often associated with high initial investments and lengthy implementation times, with a SaaS model, customers receive immediate access to the latest functions and updates after the initial setup. In addition, the costs and complexities associated with maintaining and updating the software are greatly reduced, as these tasks are handled by the contractor's own teams of experts.

Question: What role does SaaS play in the implementation of IoT solutions?

Bernhard Günthner: In global competition, IoT-capable systems will be used predominantly in the future, especially in production. This refers to complex hardware elements that work according to the principles of Industry 4.0. This requires, among other things, the switch to intelligent sensors, the merging of separate company sections, the connection of different data streams and the synchronization of many processes. The tailored use of SaaS strategies is just as central to effective adaptation as the link with Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). Companies that do not have their own comprehensive in-house knowledge in this field beforehand often find it difficult to make these far-reaching changes professionally, sustainably and, above all, cost-effectively. The principle of Software as a Service proves to be a real game changer in this challenge, as the customized specialist applications can be acquired externally in combination with the required expert knowledge.

Question: What distinguishes kontron susietec®'s SaaS offering?

Bernhard Günthner: As a leading IoT group, we are constantly working to expand our services and offer our customers even better support. The kontron susietec® toolset is a perfect example of the combination of our comprehensive software and hardware services. The software products it contains, such as our life cycle management solution Equipment Cloud®, are conveniently made available to the companies that commission us as a customized SaaS cloud application.  

Question: How do companies benefit from the SaaS functionality of the Equipment Cloud® and how does it contribute to process improvement?

Bernhard Günthner: We use this product to offer our customers an agile and cost-efficient solution that enables them to optimize their operational processes quickly and easily. The Equipment Cloud® clearly combines the key benefits of SaaS solutions and is aimed particularly at medium-sized machine and plant manufacturers. It allows a large number of integrated machines and components to be monitored simultaneously and the status of hardware and software to be visualized for analysis. In the event of a problem, this can be clearly viewed from any authorized end device at any location. This means that quick decisions can always be made based on real-time data. 

Further convincing information about the practical use of our Equipment Cloud® can be found here in our Success Stories³.

³ https://www.susietec.com/en/use-cases/2022-04/ai-based-k-port-solution

https://www.susietec.com/en/success-stories/2022-04/rampf

https://www.susietec.com/en/success-stories/2022-04/fabmatics

Question: Why should organizations integrate the Workforce service management solution into their processes?

Bernhard Günthner: Regardless of whether we are talking about the B2C or B2B sector, a company usually lives from the satisfaction of its customers. In larger organizations in particular, however, it is often difficult to collect and process all the necessary information in an up-to-date manner. Once Workforce⁴ has been configured accordingly, it records, live, all the resources available in a company at any one time, from materials to personnel. A responsible employee then only has to log in briefly to our as-a-Service application and can immediately see how many service orders are currently open and how many more they can accept. And the best thing is that this collected, digital overview not only avoids errors, but also saves huge amounts of paper previously required. 

⁴ https://www.kontron-technologies.com/en/products/workforce

Question: How is the data of customers of kontron susietec®'s SaaS offering optimally protected?

Bernhard Günthner: The security and protection of customer data is our top priority. We therefore rely on proven security practices and state-of-the-art standards to ensure the necessary confidentiality, integrity and availability. This includes encryption technologies, multi-level authentication methods and regular security audits. In addition, we strictly adhere to applicable data protection laws and regulations. 

Question: How would you summarize the future of the SaaS market, Mr. Günthner?

Bernhard Günthner: Technological progress is demanding more complex decisions and structural adjustments from manufacturing companies across all industries than ever before. By using Software-as-a-Service offerings, these companies can compensate by outsourcing many time-consuming steps to experienced partners such as Kontron, reduce costs and focus entirely on their core business. Decisions which, as we know, also significantly reduce the time-to-market for product development and allow companies to focus on their own growth. There is no doubt that the "as a service" philosophy in the technical sector is here to stay and we are delighted that we can already provide our customers with decisive support as a central player.