Why should you use asset tracking software online?
Using asset tracking software online offers a completely different experience to using a solution that needs to be installed and accessed in-house. On-premise solutions can be a hassle. They offer limited support channels, have steep setup costs, and constrain your ability to use the program outside of work. We discussed these benefits earlier (Read: Cloud-Based Equipment Tracking Software vs On-Premise Tools). Now, let’s discuss 5 more reasons to move asset management online!
Let’s focus on uptime
Uninterrupted uptime is something all cloud companies are regularly striving towards. With such a focus on providing seamless service to its customers, the real gold standard has been to achieve an uptime of 99.999%. Industry giants like Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform achieved the coveted ‘5 9s’ of uptime as far back as 2014. Since then, uptimes have been improving for smaller cloud operations. This means that service disruptions are actually becoming increasingly rare for cloud vendors. When they do happen, though, the systems in place to ensure quick recovery are extremely thorough. This is simply not the kind of efficiency that can be guaranteed on an in-house level, especially since overcoming these disruptions is rarely at the forefront for these companies.
Ease the burden with co-management
Using asset tracking software online is great for another reason: It allows instantaneous updates! Of course, this reinforces accuracy of information by allowing real-time data updates, but also by letting administrators and staff members collectively pull together and share and review information. This kind of co-management of data can be very helpful in ironing out inconsistencies, and ensuring that only the most accurate information is put into the system to be interpreted by managers. The fact that the system is online 24/7 can improve the rate at which people notice mistakes and improves visibility of information across the board.
Plug those values in now
Using on-premise solutions can extremely limiting not just in the kind of details you’re allowed to add, but also when and where you’re allowed to make these updates. Only authorized in-house machines would allow access to asset management data, and any activity carried out outside of work hours won’t be logged until the next day! These gaps in proximity and time can greatly hamper a company’s ability to keep accurate logs. This is why asset tracking software online is such an obvious choice. Data can be logged as close to the point of action as possible – both in terms of location and time. This is especially useful for logging information on project sites or on the field, and to get accurate history trails of when certain asset-related activities took place.
For data accuracy, it is good practice to add asset activity details soon after they happen.
Leave security to the experts
While one of the strongest arguments for on-premise software is the fact that it’s seen to be more secure, experts have recently been commenting on how that may not be true anymore. According to reports, the large majority of security issues in companies happen because of malicious employee intent. When this happens, companies find that they are ill-prepared to handle the security breach. On the other hand, the integrity of cloud computing firms relies heavily on their ability to lower and manage security breaches. With features like retroactive malware protection, baked-in security, and dedicated data security teams, its no surprise that cloud vendors might be more capable of handling such issues as compared to on-premise solutions.
Don’t like it? Change it!
One of the best features of cloud software is its ease of continued customizability. Of course, on-premise software is ‘bespoke’ in the sense that it is tailored to a company’s specific needs. However, once the purchase goes through, the software vendor formally exits the picture. Any future customization that the company needs would have to be addressed from scratch; there is often no continued channel of support in such cases. This can discourage companies from changing their workflows too much, because newly optimized processes might not settle in well with the settings already in place within the on-premise software. In addition, because cloud software is built on continuous feature releases and upgrades, the chances of a company stumbling upon a feature that could be very useful to them, but that they hadn’t thought of themselves, is very likely. It happens to us all the time!
Conclusion
Today, cloud software is steadily becoming the norm as customers forego clunky on-premise solutions for the more modern alternative. Using asset tracking software online bolsters accuracy of data, allows real-time updates, and takes over the task of worrying about technically challenging problems such as uptime and security. This not only helps lower costs for companies, but also gives them time to focus on other more valuable avenues.
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