Infrastructure

Our infrastructure is what keeps our business, and all of our clients, running. We take the task of setup and maintenance very seriously. We have, in addition to our internally trained staff, contracts with two independent support companies so that, in the event of a catastrophic failure - no matter how unlikely, we can get the best people onto the situation immediately.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

SaaS is, essentially, an application hosted on a remote server and accessed through the Internet. For applications that are not free, a licence fee, often monthly, is paid to gain access to the application and when this subscription is terminated access to the system is also discontinued. Maintenance and upgrades are the responsibility of the SaaS provider. Access is usually gained through a thin client such as a web browser. This means the end user does not have to install any software to use the system.

Benefits of Software as a Service

The vast majority of E-Learning, E-Recuitment and indeed most 'E' systems are delivered over the internet under the SaaS model and with good reason. Here are just a few of the key benefits of systems delivered over the internet:

• Available anywhere any time
  Users can access their systems at any time and from anywhere they have internet connectivity. Delivery of systems is almost always achieved through a normal browser interface so there is no software to install and maintain. This is true of both the administration and end user interfaces. This allows administrators and users alike to access their system at any time and any location, be it from another office or another country.
• System Administration and Upgrades
  Another major benefit of software sold under the SaaS model includes placing the often expensive and time consuming task of maintenance and upgrades in the hands of the software provider. This can have a large impact on reducing costs. Locally based systems will require, usually, in-house experts to maintain the system and the will only rarely receive upgrades.
• Shared Resources
  As well as removing the overhead of maintenance, SaaS delivered systems allow the provider to sell the system to many more users which reduces the providers overheads and subsequently the licence costs to your business. There is a hidden benefit here that more users using a system will often result in less bugs, more functionality and better support. This is not always the case as it largely depends on the SaaS provider being a 'good operator'.
• Security and Redundancy
  Securing often personal data is critical to all businesses as is ensuring systems are always online. A good SaaS provider will have their services housed in a reputable data centre and be able to demonstrate a proven track record of high availability as well as having a disaster recovery plan in place. Delivering highly sensitive data based applications over the internet should always involve using a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate. This provides full encryption of the data being transmitted. This will often incur a small extra charge from your provider but it is critical if your system captures sensitive data.

There are a number of other good reasons for internet based E-Learning systems as well as more information on the points raised above and we can help you with more detail if you are considering a move to an online system so contact us with any questions you may have.