Three Reasons to Move to a Cloud-Based Quality Management System
There are several reasons why you may want to consider moving to a cloud-based quality management solution for your business. If your QMS is not yet on the cloud this article is definitely worth the read. So let’s get started with three major reasons why you should consider moving your Quality Management Solution to the cloud.
1. Do you like saving money?
The backend cost of maintaining a Quality Management Solution on-site can quickly add up. Network infrastructure costs, servers, a data center, and more. Have more than one location? That means multi-site deployments where you repeat the set up and process for each location. These operations don’t run themselves, either. They require highly trained personnel to maintain and these skillsets don’t usually come cheap. Depending on the size of your operation you could likely use more than one person with the ability to keep everything up to standard too. Especially if the person in charge of your QMS ever wants to take a day off.
On-premise solutions might sound comforting because you get to have more “control” over the operation, but the involvement to keep it running up to the level of quality you are trying to maintain will always cost more than using cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution. The solution provider or host takes care of the responsibilities and cost of the hardware. The personnel requirement is bigger to maintain on-site as well. You can either have a team that needs to maintain your hardware or adopt a solution that most IT departments can be leaned on to manage. With the later, you don’t have to hire expensive skilled labor that rarely overlaps with other departments or projects.
2. Testing before committing.
It’s difficult to test out an on-premise quality management solutions due to all the hardware and resources required to get it off the ground. With a cloud-based SaaS solution you have way more flexibility. You can pivot or be agile where and when it makes most sense for your team and business. A luxury that is very helpful in our fast-paced world with never-ending technological advances.
Many solutions offer risk-free trials where you can test the software out to make sure if fits your needs before making the final commitment. Since your QMS is managed in the cloud it’s much easier to implement and test out compared to having someone physically maintain your local servers. It’s not a set and forget situation either. You will want people on call at a moments notice to make sure everything is running smoothly as you build it out.
3. Innovate faster and cheaper
Another perk of a cloud-based system that you can access it directly through a web browser. Any web browser. You can make sure your software is up to standard much easier and most of the heavy lifting is taken care of by the solution provider. Also think about this. The solution provider is focused on the quality and usability of their software so they have the time and resources to innovate and adapt. Unlike your organization that also has a business to run. Because the provider competes against competitor solutions, there are employees whose sole purpose is to improve the product. Access to innovation is often a luxury organization don’t have the time or energy to effectively capture. So why not leave it to the professionals whose expertise is to do just that.
For the multi-location operations it’s also very helpful to have the same software and processes at every location. Updating them all in unison can be very difficult. With a cloud-based SaaS solution you can easily keep all locations on the same version software.
That concludes the top three reasons why you should move your quality management solution to a cloud-based solution. To summarize for those that skipped ahead –
1. Cost savings
2. Easy to test and deploy
3. Access to innovation that further helps you save time and money.
All these are great reasons to explore moving to the cloud, but together they really make a compelling case. Especially with the comparative low-risk to trying it out compared to building out or maintaining an on-site solution.
Last but not least, if you’re looking for additional ways you can save time and money on quality management you could look into the registrar that certifies your QMS. A cost-saving cloud-based solutions doesn’t have to stop at the software that helps you maintain your quality standards. If your registrar is taking advantage of similar newer technology, there may be an opportunity for them pass the savings down to you – their customer. American Global Standard is one such registrar, whose average transferred client saves thousands annually on their ISO certification. They offer free consultations if that is something you think is worth exploring.
