Blog

A few months ago I came across this post by Alex Woodie on IT Jungle.  Woodie discusses a Forrester Research survey entitled “The State of Enterprise Software,” which analyzes yearly software adoption trends.  The part of Woodie’s piece that resonated most with me was a quote from Pierre Garbani, VP and principal analyst at Forrester, stating: “Companies are willing to adapt their business processes to cheaper packaged software solutions rather than wait for custom applications. Automation is the key to IT’s future.”

How right you are, Mr. Garbani; workflow automation is critical to the advancement of IT within organizations everywhere.  However, customers shouldn’t have to choose between what’s cheap and what’s good.  One of the reasons PerfectForms exists is to provide our SMB users with the most efficient, easy-to-use, intuitive and up-to-date way to automate their daily workflow processes – everything from timesheet forms to vacation requests to CRM and lead generation – and as an added bonus, our solutions are really affordable.

The key to making any business thrive is flexibility; too often, SMBs find themselves trapped in a relationship with a pricey, cumbersome old legacy application that they’ve grown to depend on for daily operations.  We give our customers the choice of how to install our solutions – on-premise or on-demand – and provide every graphical and functional building block they need to create electronic forms, track user input and utilize this data to make their businesses run more efficiently. These web-based workflows allow SMB workers to focus on their jobs and passions without wasting hours trying to figure out how to use an outdated application that probably won’t even do what it’s supposed to do.

Another advantage of using cloud-based process automation applications like PerfectForms is that we’re easy to maintain and update. There’s no hardware to integrate, no week-long outages while the system gets upgraded. We’re a grab-and-go intuitive solution; we automatically roll out updates to our product in seconds. And SMBs don’t need to abandon the idea of customization with a SaaS solution.  On the contrary, the flexibility of being available in real-time on the Web makes PerfectForms simple to modify to fit any company’s standards.

Choosing between quality and price isn’t a choice, it’s a chore. SMBs trying to modernize should make sure the solutions they’re using can grow and develop with them.

One of the reoccurring questions in our industry revolves around how to address the critical business challenges our customers face – do you develop solutions for developers, who can then custom design an application, or do you focus on the business user – empowering them with an easy to use technology that enables them to address their challenges in real-time.  While technologies like Force.com try and bridge both groups, this can become cumbersome as business users traditionally don’t have the technical know-how to build custom applications, or the time to waste 3 to 4 weeks on a custom developed solution through their IT department.

Our mission has always been about empowering the business user, and the reason is simple – a business user is more intimately aware of the pain and loss of productivity caused by inefficient workflow processes than a developer.  Why force business users to spend extra time working on a custom solution with their IT staff when one can empower them to solve their problems independently?
By focusing on the people who are most directly affected by a business challenge, we’ve been able to create a powerful web application that enables anyone to easily create custom applications for almost any kind of task in minutes.  Workflows ranging from simple HR processes like vacation requests, to more intricate initiatives like product management, can be automated by the business users themselves. 

As the old adage states, the best way to get from point A to point B is a straight line.  The same is true when it comes to overcoming the business challenges you face on a regular basis.  It’s simply intuitive; would you rather address challenges in real-time with a solution you’ve built to address them specifically, or would you rather spend weeks working with a third party to custom-build a solution that may or may not address the issues you’re facing?

The customers and business users we talk to prefer the former, which is why we’ll continue to focus on providing solutions that make it easy for you to be as productive as possible.

I read a post by Dana Gardner over at BriefingsDirect summarizing a global study on SaaS adoption by IT consultancy Avanade that reveals a sharp uptick in the adoption of cloud computing.  There’s a constant stream of new research advocating cloud adoption, but what’s interesting about this study, and Dana’s summation of the report, is that current adopters are mixing both external and internal clouds – a hybrid theory in play.

Digging into the findings, SaaS is an extremely popular model for cloud computing adoption, with 68 percent of US respondents reporting that they’ve adopted SaaS at some level, and 62 percent of global respondents reporting that they have plans to move towards SaaS within the next year.  The chief concern, despite extremely high satisfaction, is the reliability of the cloud (see my previous post for further discussion on this).  Other noteworthy conclusions include:

• Cloud computing will continue to make significant inroads for the next year, although there won’t be a mass migration to a full cloud environment
• Despite the widespread adoption and popularity of private clouds, some applications should remain on-premises

The PerfectForms Perspective:  SaaS and cloud computing represent a clear evolutionary shift in application delivery and usage. The model is maturing as processing power, storage, high-speed bandwidth, security and reliability have reached the point that meets the performance people have come to expect from their on-premise solutions.  Still, moving to the cloud isn’t for everyone, nor is it ideal for every aspect of business.

 Our perspective is that SaaS vs. on-premise doesn’t need to be an either-or argument.  Having the flexibility to utilize solutions either on-premise or through the cloud affords companies the choices they need to succeed in their own specific business environments.  If a company finds a solution which can help them realize their business objectives, overcome challenges and capitalize on market opportunities, then it should be able to choose the means by which this solution is delivered without having to sacrifice performance.

By now, the story of Microsoft and T-Mobile’s notorious Sidekick data debacle is well-known; Microsoft’s servers failed on October 2, affecting some of the Sidekick handset users who could no longer access the mobile Internet or email. What really put things over the edge was when the Sidekick server and its backup server became corrupted in the process of restoring customer access, and the users affected by the initial outage saw all of their data erased. This incident highlights the growing debate of SaaS vs. on-premise software – something we see every day with our customer’s adopting workflow automation software.  

Traditionalists favor on-premise software deployment because it’s familiar, however, the flexibility of being able to host enterprise applications in-house and customize them to suit a particular environment is tremendously liberating.  Having solutions on-premise may seem like a more secure way of doing business – by keeping all data within a company’s physical walls. However, SaaS offers some unique benefits as well.  It requires no infrastructure investment and eliminates the need for installations and maintenance, which is very attractive, especially when budgets are a concern.

When events like Sidekick’s data loss occur, it unfortunately reinforces fears about the security and long term viability of SaaS. Asking whether the SaaS model is fallible is like asking if popular websites have ever suffered outages – the answer is yes.  Amazon.com, Gmail, even entire countries’ servers have shut down on occasion. Some of the worries over SaaS are legitimate, but it wasn’t so long ago that organizations were questioning the security of doing business on the Internet.  SaaS must go through a similar process and earn trust and acceptance, which it will.

Many of our customers have cited “affordability” and “user-friendliness” as major reasons for selecting PerfectForms’ SaaS version. One customer, Trilliant, selected PerfectForms via SaaS for its “simplicity.” Another, Visalia Unified School District, needed a solution that could be easily deployed over a secure Intranet system so they selected an on-premise version. 

Offering both on-demand and on-premise gives our customers the ability to choose whichever option they feel best suits their needs. Forcing one model upon customers and prospects doesn’t acknowledge the incredible disparities in size, function and composition that separate different groups.

Remember – whether you’re a startup with 5 employees or a multinational conglomerate of 50,000, choose the software deployment option that you feel will be of the greatest benefit to your organization.

If you’ve made a choice to use or not to use a SaaS application for your business, I’d   like to know what challenges you faced in making that decision.

Tom Allanson

We’re happy to announce that PerfectForms is now on Twitter! Follow us @perfectforms
Look for us to provide you with the newest customer success stories, product news, and upcoming events featuring PerfectForms!

PerfectForms is pleased to announce our release of the Affinity Management Group Success Story.

Through directing sales and creating surveys for numerous Fortune 500 companies, The Affinity Management Group has positioned itself as an industry leader in business consulting and survey services. Affinity’s clients include technology firms, telephony networks, human resources specialists, health care institutions and other professional businesses.

Last year, Affinity reported over 10-15 million dollars in sales for clients, which were primarily driven by client survey solutions. PerfectForms software as a service solution has provided Affinity Management Group with an essential survey framework, which has streamlined workflow – delivering an impressive one-year return on investment – and transformed the way Affinity employees do their jobs.

“Jeff has been a godsend! Whenever I need help with anything, I send Jeff an email and within 10 minutes Jeff is personally on the phone with me to explain how to do it.“

“The service level has been phenomenal!”
-Adrina Patterson, Owner of Affinity Management Group

Other notable case study highlights include:

• Affinity survey response rates have been reported as 4 to 5 times better with PerfectForms than industry norms. The sector typically has a 4 – 8% typical response rate for surveys, but Affinity reports that with PerfectForms their norm for 2008 was a 37% response rate.

• Reduced maintenance costs. All technical problems are easily solved with the assistance of PerfectForms on-demand solutions management staff.

• Reduced loss leads due streamlined workflow. Affinity reports that the workflow management system has prevented items from being misplaced or mismanaged, which has increased productivity and simplified process management.

• Expanded business opportunities. Affinity cites that PerfectForms flexibility allows itself to be adapted to new business processes solutions, reducing costs for deployed software. They are looking at transitioning other existing processes to PerfectForms to create new business divisions.

For the full customer case study, click here

PerfectForms CEO Tom Allanson highlights the easy to use, yet powerful capabilities of PerfectForms.

Today’s customer success story comes to us from the cutting edge energy solutions firm Trilliant. Trilliant provides network solutions and software for monitoring and controlling electric, gas, and water utility use, in real time, through the Trilliant ‘Smart Grid Network’. Through its monitoring services, Trilliant is able to provide utility companies with state-of-the-art metering and communications infrastructures that can reduce energy consumption and costs for consumers.

Trilliant’s CIO Tom Hines initially considered PerfectForms because of its affordability and simplicity, particularly in comparison to other SaaS solutions. Tom’s positive experience while implementing the service led to Trilliant’s entire Non-Disclosure Agreement process being automated using a PerfectForms application. Since that time, PerfectForms has become an essential tool in streamlining Trilliant’s day-to-day operations.

In addition to providing form creation and automation capabilities, PerfectForms is used by Trilliant as a powerful process mapping tool, which allows administrators to understand and streamline workflow processes. By identifying daily work connection points, Trilliant is able to document all pending items and procedures, better address inefficiencies and manage time and resource investments. This internal management process has been greatly improved thanks to the versatile nature of PerfectForms, saving Trilliant significant time and money.

Just another example of how PerfectForms and our business partners are working hard towards making this world a better, more efficient place.

For the full customer case study, click here

PerfectForms is a software application for creating and deploying web-based solutions to manage workflow, streamline collaborative processes and provide actionable analysis without writing any code. It’s perfect for non-technical people who need to manage complex business tasks and need 100% control over the look and feel of their applications. PerfectForms is available in two deployment options, on-demand or on-premise, to meet your unique needs.

*On-Demand is a zero-footprint solution hosted by PerfectForms that enables businesses to reduce their application development costs while significantly improving information management, analysis and operation procedures.

* On-Premise is a licensed business applications platform that enables a business to develop Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications in their own IT hosting environment (private cloud) behind the firewall.

The service enables you to easily build web forms that help manage and monitor your business. With little technical know-how, you can rapidly create complete workflow solutions with no coding required. The powerful, graphical editor allows you to visually design the user interface, define the workflow and set up connections to other systems.

PerfectForms allows you to;

* Build intelligent, visually rich forms
* Design simple or complex workflows completely without coding
* Send automatic notifications, reminders and escalations when action is required
* Create impressive drill down reports with data grids, graphs, charts and gauges
* Get full visibility to your business process with the PerfectForms Dashboard
* Integrate easily with LDAP, databases and other systems

PerfectForms gives its users 100% control over form design and deployment. Its workflow solutions and reporting capabilities rival those found in large scale enterprise platforms, making it well suited for the most demanding and complex environments. Offering the flexibility of on-premise or on-demand, PerfectForms puts companies in the driver’s seat and gives them a competitive edge in today’s fast moving business environment.