We’ve known for some time that digital transformation
is changing business
What does this mean and how can businesses adapt?
In essence, a digital transformation refers to the adoption of digital processes and tools to achieve business goals and objectives. It’s a complex, multifaceted process that represents a massive cultural shift in the workplace, bringing changes that can affect every part of a company. These can be summarised as four main areas: business process, business model, domain, and business culture.
This generally results in a huge overhaul of processes, operations and customer relationships – for the benefit of all.
So why bother? And just what are the benefits?
In short, it comes down to expectation. Both customers and employees have changing expectations of business today. Instant service is something that we have come to take for granted in our personal lives, from the way we shop to the way we socialise. We’re now expecting this in our professional lives – and for a business to be successful, it must provide this. This can of course be a challenge to achieve, but it’s imperative that businesses understand that digital transformation is no longer a choice – it’s essential for businesses to grow and arguably, survive.
We have identified some of the key tech acronyms flying around the industry at the moment, and broken them down for you…
SaaS
Software As A Service
So whats it all about?
Software as a Service, or SaaS, is a licencing model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. As a cloud based service, applications are accessed via an internet browser, eliminating the need to download software to a desktop PC or business network to run and update, allowing buyers to outsource most of the IT maintenance.
This effective method of software delivery allows data to be accessed from any device with an internet connection and a web browser. In this web-based model, software vendors host and maintain the servers, databases, and the code that makes up an application.
The model has many advantages, including accessibility, compatibility, and operational management. Additionally, SaaS models offer lower upfront costs than traditional software download and installation, making them more available to a wider range of businesses, and easier for smaller companies to disrupt existing markets while empowering suppliers.
The software application could be anything from office software to unified communications among a wide range of other business apps that are available. Well-known examples of the model include: BigCommerce, Google Apps, Salesforce, Dropbox, MailChimp, ZenDesk, DocuSign, Slack, Hubspot.
IaaS
Infrastructure As A Service
So whats it all about?
(IaaS) is a cloud computing model whereby all the infrastructure is provided and maintained by the provider, including servers, storage and networking, This allows a business to scale up quickly with cloud, without having to make a huge investment in purchasing and installing new hardware. It usually operates on a monthly payment system where the user simply pays a monthly fee to use resources as per their needs and the cloud provider is responsible for ensuring the maintenance of all the hardware and virtualised services.
Well known examples include DigitalOcean, Linode, Rackspace, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Compute Engine (GCE).
PaaS
Platform As A Service
So whats it all about?
Platform as a Service, (PaaS) enables a business to get the most out of their cloud platform, allowing them to reduce the cost of change, cut development time, improve security and ultimately, accelerate their digital transformation.
Well known examples include AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Windows Azure, Heroku, Force.com, Google App Engine, Apache Stratos.
MaaS
Mobility As A Service
So whats it all about?
Mobility-as-a-Service describes a shift away from personally-owned modes of transportation and towards mobility provided as a service.
Mobility as a Service, (MaaS) is a consumer-centric model of people transportation. It describes a shift away from personally-owned modes of transportation to an on-demand, real-time platform that includes a vast combination of transport methods, including car and bike sharing, taxis and car rentals and leases. It covers everything from travel planning to virtual payment.
The best known example of this is Uber.
