SaaS can provide corporate services, trust and fund administrators with a more flexible approach to their systems, budgeting, end-client delivery, and productivity.  In this blog we’ll cover cloud-first flexibility in terms of: 

1. Streamlined budgeting
2. Capacity and server planning
3. Integration with other applications
4. Seamless end-user access
5. And finally… it’s also the experience we've all come to expect.

1. Streamlined budgeting

It would be hard to describe the long-standing model of a financial institution’s software purchases – and its hardware purchases on which to provision them – as ‘flexible’. Let’s take the example of the number of users, or seats, a system requires. And a scenario of a company growing by acquisition.

The number of seats would naturally need to rapidly be increased. And, with it, hardware purchases to make everything available and keep service uninterrupted. This is all possible if the flexing required is in the long term. But if it’s in the short or medium term, it can be very difficult to budget for usage increase and accommodate financially.

As the vendor-neutral, independent info source, CompTIA (The Computing Technology Industry Association) notes, "advantages of SaaS Technology include... no upfront hardware costs and flexible payment methods..."

2. Capacity and server planning

If the above example and scenarios might be financially challenging for those in charge of software and hardware budgets, they generally prove even more challenging, logistically, for those managing the actual software and hardware itself.

Flexing systems up ‘overnight’ can be nigh-on impossible with traditional on-premises, perpetual licence-based systems. IBM’s Cloud team are of the same mind. In their recent blog, on the Top 5 Advantages of Software as a Service (SaaS), they explain:

"Compared with the traditional model, (with SaaS) you don't have to buy another server or software. You only need to enable a new offering, and, in terms of server capacity planning, the SaaS provider will own that. Additionally, you'll have the flexibility to be able to scale your use up and down based on specific needs."

3. Integration with other applications

It's very rare these days that software systems work in isolation. If they do, teams and data all too easily end up operating in silos. Far better to have software that integrates easily - as and when needed - to the other platforms you use. As IBM’s Cloud team notes in the blog mentioned above:

"Usually, SaaS solutions reside in cloud environments that are scalable and have integrations with other SaaS offerings."

The ease with which integrations can be added and removed is potentially far smoother – and far more sophisticated as a result. In short, the technical due diligence of the integration of two cloud technologies will have already been done for you. As a result, connecting and integrating one system with another should be a quicker and easier process.

4. Seamless end-user access

End-user access becomes seamless when, front-, middle- and back-office systems are all cloud- and SaaS-based. As TrustQuay’s Future Focus Report 2021 proved out, in terms of client portals for example, the corporate services, trust and fund administration market is way behind other areas of the financial services. And this will become increasingly unsustainable.

Digital access by clients to their own information has now moved from a nice-to-have to a must-have, and the integration of front-, middle- and back-office systems in the cloud delivers this in the quickest and most cost-effective way.

5. It’s also the experience we've all come to expect…

While TrustQuay works with a diverse client base from all 'generations', the expectations around the flexibility of SaaS and cloud technologies that River SaaS Capital recently highlighted should always be top of mind...

“The millennial generation is now the largest actively working generation. How does this tie into SaaS? In addition to having the greatest familiarity with technology, millennials also have a greater interest in roles that offer flexibility in both schedule and location.

“This,” they point out, “combined with more industries utilizing remote and distributed workforces, means that (a SaaS platform) will be used in more locations, on more devices, and for different reasons."

Our work across TrustQuay’s industry sectors sees our software in use every day by the ‘digital native generations’. They’re the staff who are leading the charge for SaaS- and cloud-based systems, because they’re the users who demand the flexibility to access to operate the system anywhere, anytime, and on any device.

About the Author

Suzanne Pritchard

Suzanne is Product Manager at TrustQuay