It seems that even SaaS skeptics are now finding it hard to deny that cloud deployment is a trend. A February 21, 2011 article published on MSDynamicsWorld.com cites a recent study that found an overall increase in SaaS adoption from 6% in 2009 to 17% in 2010. Results like that are tough to attribute to just “marketing hype.”
With Tensoft’s focus on the technology industry – and with that industry’s natural tendency to constantly create new companies – perhaps we’ve seen more than the national average’s share of SaaS converts. We certainly began to see strong interest in the SaaS model from our customers and prospective customers earlier than our colleagues’ who specialize in other industry segments (or those who have no particular industry focus).
In fact, demand was strong enough that we announced the release of our end-to-end cloud ERP solution for the fabless semiconductor industry in 2007. By the third quarter of 2009, the majority of our new customers were choosing to deploy in the cloud.
One of Tensoft’s customers was interviewed for the article, so I thought the excerpt below might be of interest to Technology Insider readers:
Most of the companies that decide on a SaaS model don't have an ERP system in place.... That was exactly the case for Syndiant, a manufacturer of small and high-resolution light modulating chips used in ultra-portable projectors.
"We're an early-stage company that started in 2004 and we didn't do product manufacturing until late October 2009," said Syndiant Controller Cory Johnson. "In December 2009 the executives of the corporation made a decision that it would be wise to go from QuickBooks to an ERP system. And they decided since we didn't have an onsite IT staff it would be better and more cost efficient to run it as a SaaS hosted model."
After looking at a number of vendors, the company chose Tensoft Inc.'s Fabless Semiconductor Management solution (FSM) and Microsoft Dynamics GP using Tensoft's hosted subscription model.
"It went live April 15 2010 and, for the most part, it went pretty smooth," he said. "The full ERP system was to help us manage from cradle to grave from procurement of raw materials to the maintaining and monitoring of our manufacturing that was outsourced to a third party. We had to have vendor integration so they could send us inventory status reports that we can automatically import and it will update and move our inventory from one manufacturing step to another and update the general ledger and accounting system on a more timely basis so we can be more efficient."
For Syndiant, the executive team didn't really have any concerns when they were considering a SaaS ERP implementation, Johnson said.
"Considering the people who made the decision weren't accountants there weren't any concerns," he said. "But one caution should be around security measures. But the security measures set up by Tensoft and the way they it set up for us to access the hosted solution is pretty safe and secure. It's working well and when we run across an issue we e-mail Tensoft and we usually hear back within an hour or so."
Please note the system live date of April 15, 2010 above. Then take a look at the January 18, 2010 press release when Tensoft announced that Syndiant had just signed. That’s a three month implementation for what the customer has described as “cradle to grave” ERP, with no onsite IT staff - a ringing endorsement both for everyone involved, including Syndiant’s hard-working team, and for the SaaS deployment model.
By the way, if you’re interested in more details about Tensoft’s cloud deployment at Syndiant, please stay tuned for the case study that will be available soon.
