Top 3 Benefits of Cloud Based Software

Traditionally, software purchasing and deployment has had many limitations and complexities. With a high barrier to entry and steep learning curve, this has scared away many organizations from starting up with a desired solution. Cloud solutions can address these concerns, regardless if you’re looking into solutions for design, data management, manufacturing, or beyond!

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Topics covered in this post:

1. Ease of Software Deployment

2. Ease of Software Updates

3. Flexibility in Purchasing

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Ease of Software Deployment

 With a perpetual software model, oftentimes, a serial number is the basis of activating a software installation. This generally restricts the use of a software purchase to a given device. Most software will allow the deactivation and reactivation of a license on an alternate device, but this can be tedious if done consistently and problematic if forgotten before leaving the active device.

The problems expand when looking at organizations with multiple users; especially if those users are in various locations. The organization then must determine which devices to install the software on and which users will use those devices. This is often the responsibility of IT to either manually carry out this process on each device, or potentially utilize a deployment tool, depending on the software.

Ideally, a deployment tool is available with the given software which can not only help the individual devices access the installation media, but also configure the settings that will be applied to the installation. Otherwise, IT will have to configure the settings on each device individually to the company standards. Even with a deployment tool, headaches can arise when changes to the setting configurations are desired, requiring another deployment to ensure all devices have the update.

Cloud based solutions can reduce many of these headaches. Many cloud solutions utilize named user licensing. This allows an administrator to assign the desired solutions to a given user who can then use the solution, regardless of which device they are on. This not only reduces IT overhead and bottlenecks, but also increases the flexibility of the user, which is increasingly important in an environment where remote work is more and more common.

Configuring settings with a cloud based solution also allows for these updates to be implemented to all users, regardless of location, instantly.

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Ease of Software Updates

Evolution is constant, especially when it comes to technology. This can make it difficult to keep up with updates. This becomes especially problematic with software that has version specific file compatibility. In this case, an entire organization must update simultaneously or face internal collaboration and compatibility issues. Just as with the initial deployment, rolling out updates becomes increasingly difficult with larger and more dispersed organizations.

With cloud solutions, updates are generally provided by the developers of the software. Updates will be rolled out automatically, keeping all members of your organization on the latest and greatest, and further reducing your IT overhead. This prevents many of the headaches that come with file compatibility issues if members of your organization are not all on the same version of the software.

These benefits are especially clear when evaluating data management solutions. Traditionally, implementing a data management solution required an organization to invest in local servers and additional hardware. This also means that they had to internally maintain that hardware as well. This can be very costly, and IT can quickly become a bottleneck to your organization moving forward with updates. Oftentimes, the data management solution being out of date can also prevent dependent software from being updated, further setting your organization behind.

Cloud service providers will maintain all the servers and additional hardware needed aside from your local computer, tablet, etc. Plus, they will often have dedicated teams to ensuring their security protocols are aligned with industry standards, something that many smaller and even mid-sized organizations may not be able to afford. These factors can be a huge cost saver which is often forgotten about when considering cloud solutions.

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Flexibility in Purchasing

Many software packages are traditionally purchased as a perpetual option in which you paid a large upfront cost, and potentially a yearly maintenance fee to receive updates and stay on the latest version. This model makes it difficult to get started for people without a large amount of capital. It also doesn’t give much flexibility for users that may need the software for a shorter term.

Many cloud solutions provide subscription-based licensing that gives organizations the ability to subscribe to any desired solutions on a fixed term such as a quarterly or yearly basis. This lowers the barrier to entry substantially and allows you to add or remove solutions on a short-term basis, giving you the solutions you need, when you need them. These benefits become especially clear as your organization begins to scale by providing new members of your organization the tools they need as soon as they join your team!

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 Conclusion

Your organization isn’t static, so why utilize static tools? 3DEXPERIENCE provides you the tools you need when you need them, with all the benefits of a cloud-based solution. With collaborative solutions for design, data and lifecycle management, simulation, manufacturing, and more, you can be sure to have all the tools your organization needs. Assign the appropriate software to users with the ease of a checkbox and make sure those tools are always the latest and greatest while remaining compatibility with each other and other users, regardless of location. With Dassault Systèmes handling all the updates automatically and any server maintenance, you can greatly reduce your IT overhead and hardware costs. With the ability to easily control the settings on an organization wide basis, you can ensure users have the proper permissions applied and make any desired changes instantly.

Interested in further evaluating how the flexibility of 3DEXPERIENCE can benefit your organization? Contact us today to start the conversation!