Hosted in the Cloud or On-Premise?
When you invest in employee clock in software, you will find there are two deployment options. You can choose to host it in the cloud, or on premise. This is not a matter of deciding if one is better than the other since both are viable options. The goal is to learn about each option so you can make an educated decision regarding if the cloud or on-premise is right for you.
In most cases, deployment decisions are made based on two criteria:
- How comfortable companies are with having another company managing their time management and payroll assets
- The amount of IT expertise within the company
Site Deployment
If you want to keep your attendance tracking and payroll information managed by your own IT professionals, behind your own firewalls, then on-site deployment is going to provide you with the highest level of control.
The system is still fully functional and touches many different parts of a business, which is why it has to be integrated into multiple systems. In this situation, you don’t have to worry about information being held hostage in a vendor’s data center. You will be in control of how your time management and payroll application interacts with other core systems of the business.
Another benefit of on-site deployment is the openness it offers. IT managers will have full access to the PHP source code, which is an easy-to-understand programming language. This allows the system to be integrated and customized to the company without the need for third-party changes or an entourage of Java programmers.
Cloud Deployment
If your company is comfortable with housing your employee information outside of their own firewall and you don’t have sufficient IT staff on-site to manage the time management and payroll system, then cloud deployment is likely going to be the best option. Dedicated hosting capabilities are provided that will manage all necessary maintenance and upgrades. You will receive all the benefits offered by hosted applications, with the additional flexibility of being able to migrate from the hosted service to an on-site solution.
Also, when cloud hosting is selected, the entire system will be able to be setup quickly. However, this ease of entry does not mean that security is sacrificed. The cloud hosted software offers a much more secure environment compared to many other hosted time management and payroll solutions, due to the fact that the APIs, application, and data are all managed independently.
Unlike the closed, proprietary systems, the cloud hosted system does not limit your business to just a certain number of integration points. The code is visible, which means that you have complete transparency into the application, as well as the database. This allows you to integrate new employee data when needed to effectively run your business. There are never any hidden fees, costs or code that you have to worry about.
As your business grows and becomes more complex, the one-size-fits-all hosted time management and payroll solution may no longer fit your strategic goals and aspirations.
At this point, you can make a seamless transition to an open-source and on-site deployment. When your needs change, Advance Systems can grow with your organization.
What Option is Right for You?
The option that is right for you, may not be right for another business. You have to carefully consider your operation and the staff you have on-site. If you don’t have a dedicated IT department or at least one staff member, then the best option is going to be cloud deployment. However, if you have an entire IT staff and want to keep your information to yourself, then the on-site deployment will be the best option. The key is to take some time to get to know both options so you can choose the one that makes the most sense for you.
With the information here and by evaluating the businesses situation, you will be able to easily decide if cloud deployment or on-site deployment are the better options. Don’t rush this decision, but think it over carefully to ensure you get the most from your time management and payroll system that you have purchased.
