How to choose your next company software?

CMMS or Saas Collaborative Software

One of the questions that often arises in companies concerns the choice of professional software or ERP.What will be the best choice for a user and how will new software increase team collaboration and efficiency.

Since the adoption of the Internet in companies, professional software has multiplied, whether it is developed solely for the company, such as CMMS, or as a SaaS tool.
For example, most companies, especially in the maintenance and facility management sector, are still equipped with old CMMS software, even though the situation is changing.

In this article, we will look at the advantages for your company of equipping your technicians with a saas CMMS with a subscription rather than choosing to develop a tool specifically for managing maintenance at your company.

1 - Classic CMMS

Having arrived some thirty years ago at the beginning of the digital transformation, classic CMMS are increasingly disappearing from companies' IT assets.If developing a 100% customised CMMS for your company used to be interesting, particularly in terms of functionalities, there are disadvantages to take into account.

The cost of these tools is often extremely high, as developing a platform just for your company requires a team of internal or external developers to create an environment from scratch.The hours of work required by a professional software developer for these type of services are extremely high.

In addition to the cost of development and the time of implementation - which is significantly very long, it will also take several months before you can have your software.
The maintenance of on-site CMMS is also a problem, as in fact, these expensive tools are often used for several years by companies, and it happens that the employees present at the beginning of the installation of such tools leave the company and take with them the knowledge of the tool, creating further losses for the companies.

The training that has to be provided at the development company also has a high cost per employee.
Updating and maintaining such tools is often an issue because usually complex ad-hoc development is probably done via multiple independent software vendors. Ultimate, companies can end up with a user interface that looks like 10-15 years old and increasingly buggy and slow.
Flexibility is also a big problem with CMMS, as often these are developed over multiple years in companies, they rarely allow for adaptation, in particular to mobile devices.

As such, users who cannot use them on mobile devices are gradually abandoning them.Adding new functionalities is also extremely difficult and calling on a software developer for this is also very expensive.

2 - SaaS collaborative software?

Now let’s have a look at the benefits of SaaS collaborative software for maintenance and services (Software as a Service).The SaaS model means that you will subscribe to a cloud solution rather than owning your own software.
The benefits of SaaS software compared to a CMMS are numerous. Firstly, you will save money by not having to make an initial investment.

Indeed, a solution such as Urbest requires no investment to get started and even offers a free trial of the product in order to get familiar with its potential.
SaaS software is developed by companies who are specialists in their field such as facility management, rent collection, payments etc. This means that the software they offer is constantly evolving and will enable you to meet all future challenges with the help of an innovative company interested in your problems.

The regular and instant update of the functionalities will be a significant point compared to the traditional tools.
Since the software is plug-and-play, the implementation in your company will be extremely fast, your technicians will be equipped and ready to use such tools in less than a day.

Digital data is stored securely on the cloud and accessible at any time enabling a new way to consume analytics with a customised dashboard and live statistics.
SaaS solutions are generally UX friendly, which means that they are available on all current devices (laptop, mobile device, tablet).

They also allow a simplified link with an ERP or other existing products. The transmission of data or the transfer of documents to a client has often been simplified thanks to SaaS collaborative software. Instead of creating reports and sending emails, one just needs to share access with others.

Finally, SaaS collaborative software have very few disadvantages and are gradually replacing traditional CMMS for all types of use. The all-digital world can sometimes scare some companies who are gradually realising the benefits of centralising everything on dedicated software.

That said, today the high advantages of Saas software outweigh the shrinking benefits of traditional CMMS tools in medium size companies. And most certainly, these advantages will start to be noticed more and more in large companies.