Why use Equipment Tracking Software for your business?

When implementing solutions to manage assets and equipment, businesses are often faced with three choices: traditional spreadsheets, on-premise software, or cloud-based equipment tracking software. Spreadsheets are usually plagued with errors and inefficiencies that can be easily avoided in automated software solutions. There are two types of equipment tracking software solutions available: cloud based which is accessed via the web and stores data on the provider’s servers, and on-premise which hosts data on local servers.

With the development of the internet and mobile apps, people want software solutions that give them instant and on the go access to their information. This need for faster and agile software solutions has led to an increase in the demand for cloud-based software. In fact 82% of new commercial applications are now built specifically for cloud-based delivery. Here are 5 reasons why businesses are choosing cloud-based equipment tracking software over on-premise software.

Plug and Play Mechanism

Cloud-based software is an off the shelf solution designed to meet the specific needs of different industries. Unlike on-premise software cloud-based software requires no investment in servers and operating systems. This is because cloud-based software is accessed via the web and only requires a working internet connection. This means that businesses can avoid large setup and maintenance costs or delays and quickly deploy a cloud-based equipment tracking solution. With cloud-based software businesses can also avoid training costs that are often required for on-premise software solutions.

Lower Upfront and Maintenance Costs

Cloud-based software follows a subscription based pricing model i.e. businesses can choose to pay on a monthly or yearly basis. This means that businesses are able to implement an automated software solution without incurring high initial purchase costs. Businesses are also free to test out cloud-based software solutions and move/upgrade to newer and better solutions without facing a loss on their initial investment. Additionally, with cloud-based software businesses can save infrastructural and workforce costs of managing and maintaining on-premise software.

Flexibility and Support

The evolving nature of the fast paced corporate world demands that businesses adopt a software that can constantly adapt to their needs. The subscription based model of cloud-based software means that providers have to constantly improve their software in order to retain customers. Thus businesses are in liaison with their software providers in order to develop and improve the software to better match their needs. Additionally, cloud-based software provides active support channels which clients can use to communicate any issues with the software, ask for help and even make feature requests. This eliminates the need for in-house IT personnel specifically hired to help debug issues with the equipment tracking software.

Instant and Off Location Access

With cloud-based equipment management software, business operations are not restricted to physical office workspaces i.e. employees can access and update information about equipment from their smartphones, tablets and laptops. Employees can access and update equipment information from any location, even when they are traveling. This is particularly helpful when it comes to updating equipment maintenance requirements from the field, such as on construction sites. This flexibility in usage is not possible with on-premise software as it requires that employees use the software from installed locations only.

Seamless Integrations

On-premise software integrations usually require that data be exported from one system, manipulated according to the standards of another software and then imported into that software – a method commonly known as Extract-Transform-Load. However, this method does not support real time access and it may take considerable time to move large amounts of data. In contrast, cloud-based software supports real-time information sharing between integrated software that requires little manual effort. Integrations like that of EZOfficeInventory and Zendesk allow businesses to easily track and manage equipment usage and also track associated maintenance tickets using Zendesk.

Conclusion

For businesses that are facing equipment management woes, adopting cloud-based equipment tracking software is the way to go. The online software is not only easy to set-up but also offers businesses with the flexibility and support they need to keep their equipment management system up and running. The low entry cost of equipment tracking software, coupled with the fact that it requires no hardware or IT maintenance costs also makes it the best choice for SMBs.