A recent HR software debacle at Wichita Falls ISD demonstrates that applications that try to do too much can be less useful than a series of well designed niche solution. The school’s CFO (Tim Turner) faced some tough questions recently from school board members about their $1 million investment in software from Prologic Technologies. The suite they bought includes such features as grade tracking, core HR, and paycheck issuance. That’s a pretty diverse range of functions to include in one software package.
Three years into the implementation, the WFISD’s CFO is very displeased with how much time he has to spend every week administering the software. He’s especially tired of dealing with glitches that cause misprints on paychecks. Turner admits that these problems usually crop up when there are errors or omissions in the information entered on the HR side. Since how teachers (especially substitutes) are paid can vary depending on many factors, getting the data right is challenging. The system apparently doesn’t include built in rules to help ensure that information is entered correctly.
Software Doesn’t Offer Full Functionality
One issue that the software vendor definitely should have addressed by now is the fact that Turner can’t generate the reports he really needs. This limits visibility into budget management – a huge concern for pretty much every school district in the country. The WFISD suspended payments to Prologic months ago because of ongoing dissatisfaction with the software’s performance. They want to give the vendor one last chance to get the bugs fixed. If that doesn’t happen, they plan to cancel their contract and review the original bids they received from other vendors in 2006 to find an alternative solution.
Why Looking at Outdated Quotes Isn’t Likely to Help
Given how fast the software landscape evolves, that might not be the best approach. To really get what they need, the board should take a fresh look at their specifications and expectations and clarify their requirements. The valuable lesson WFISD can learn from this experience is that they need to work with a vendor who understands the special challenges of the education industry and can create a tailored solution.
They may not be best served by a single provider either. Instead, they may want to have each function serviced by a separate SaaS vendor (with appropriate interfaces between applications). This could entail a couple of benefits. First, they won’t get so enmeshed with one vendor that they are stuck spending years putting up with less than satisfactory customer service. Second, they can select Best of Breed applications that limit human mistakes. As we’ve demonstrated with our Universal Onboarding software, eliminating errors and omissions is just a matter of making this a priority in the design stage.
Showing posts with label Jeff Hayden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jeff Hayden. Show all posts
Monday, January 24, 2011
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
SaaS Data Security for HR
Not all of the concerns HR may have about the security of SaaS are necessarily unfounded. Although top notch HR software vendors can afford to implement the latest security measures both online and in their data facilities, not all SaaS vendors are created equal. Employee data is always highly sensitive. Employers routinely collect information that could be used to perpetrate identity theft on a massive scale if it falls into the wrong hands. The damage to employee/employer relationships in the event of a data breach (even if no fraud results) is massive.
According to this whitepaper slideshow from Softscape, the average cost of a compromise in the security of HR data is over 6 million dollars. That’s not a risk organizations can afford to take – and not one they should have to worry about when it comes to the security of their data in the hands of an SaaS vendor.
Investigate Before You Sign Up With a New SaaS Company
In the slideshow mentioned above, the folks at Softscape outline several security concerns that HR clients should explore with their IT department and potential SaaS vendors. For example, if a multi-tenancy structure is used (which is typical for SaaS), a closer look at data segregation is warranted. If all employee data for multiple customers is hosted in a single database, this increases the risk of data being unintentionally exposed to the wrong client. With niche vendors who have a small client base and little capital to work with, this is the kind of corner cutting that can lead to real problems.
An SaaS vendor that takes security seriously will have multiple layers of physical and virtual security measures in place to prevent both accidental data breaches and intentional attempts at hacking/sabotage. They will also work with each client’s own IT department to implement further measures as needed to ensure the application is truly secure.
For some clients, this is accomplished most effectively by providing an on-premise version of the software rather than going with SaaS. However, this is only the better option if the client’s organization actually has a highly secure internal data center. For the average customer, the costs of maintaining a state-of-the-art data facility are prohibitively high. So, most HR departments may actually be keeping data safer by relying on a best of breed SaaS vendor to host it off site. To find out more about the safeguards we put in place to keep our clients’ new hire onboarding data secure, contact us at 770-569-5122.
According to this whitepaper slideshow from Softscape, the average cost of a compromise in the security of HR data is over 6 million dollars. That’s not a risk organizations can afford to take – and not one they should have to worry about when it comes to the security of their data in the hands of an SaaS vendor.
Investigate Before You Sign Up With a New SaaS Company
In the slideshow mentioned above, the folks at Softscape outline several security concerns that HR clients should explore with their IT department and potential SaaS vendors. For example, if a multi-tenancy structure is used (which is typical for SaaS), a closer look at data segregation is warranted. If all employee data for multiple customers is hosted in a single database, this increases the risk of data being unintentionally exposed to the wrong client. With niche vendors who have a small client base and little capital to work with, this is the kind of corner cutting that can lead to real problems.
An SaaS vendor that takes security seriously will have multiple layers of physical and virtual security measures in place to prevent both accidental data breaches and intentional attempts at hacking/sabotage. They will also work with each client’s own IT department to implement further measures as needed to ensure the application is truly secure.
For some clients, this is accomplished most effectively by providing an on-premise version of the software rather than going with SaaS. However, this is only the better option if the client’s organization actually has a highly secure internal data center. For the average customer, the costs of maintaining a state-of-the-art data facility are prohibitively high. So, most HR departments may actually be keeping data safer by relying on a best of breed SaaS vendor to host it off site. To find out more about the safeguards we put in place to keep our clients’ new hire onboarding data secure, contact us at 770-569-5122.
HR Software and Blended/Hybrid SaaS
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been looking at a lot of the reasons HR may choose SaaS over on-premise software. This special report from Workforce.com offers an in-depth look at the options available for HR applications.
What is Pure SaaS?
This definition is, of course, open for debate. However, here’s one description of what a pure SaaS vendor might look like: The vendor would have data from multiple clients all stored in the same infrastructure and run on a single instance of the software leaving it somewhat vulnerable to catastrophic failure or security breaches. Little or no customization of the application would be possible for individual clients beyond basic settings options. All upgrades would be mandatory – regardless of whether they interfere with a client’s existing interfaces with back end systems.
The Reality of SaaS
Obviously, most vendors in the HR software sphere aren’t advertising products that have such serious limitations as those you might see with “pure” SaaS. They may work with one of a variety of different multi-tenancy structure approaches that securely segregate each client’s data and offer some flexibility in tailoring the application to the client’s needs. In addition, many SaaS vendors give customers the option of whether or not to deploy various updates based on the impact this would have on the client’s other systems.
Some SaaS vendors even offer a distinct instance of their application for each client that can be customized to match an HR department’s unique business rules. They also completely partition one client’s data and software application from the next by creating separate “virtual” servers. With the advent of cloud computing and server virtualization software, this has become a way for SaaS vendors to offer customization and higher security without driving up the cost of their products too much.
Emerald Software Group Offers Hybrid Options
A number of vendors in the HR field offer on-premise software, a multi-tenancy model of SaaS, and a dedicated instance of their application delivered online. However, in the onboarding niche this is not the case. Virtually all of Emerald Software’s direct competitors offer only an SaaS version of their onboarding software with no on-premise version available. We don’t believe in turning customers away when we can accommodate their needs by staying on top of clients’ demands for flexible options. That’s why we have so many different choices available including licensed, hosted, and managed versions of our onboarding software.
What is Pure SaaS?
This definition is, of course, open for debate. However, here’s one description of what a pure SaaS vendor might look like: The vendor would have data from multiple clients all stored in the same infrastructure and run on a single instance of the software leaving it somewhat vulnerable to catastrophic failure or security breaches. Little or no customization of the application would be possible for individual clients beyond basic settings options. All upgrades would be mandatory – regardless of whether they interfere with a client’s existing interfaces with back end systems.
The Reality of SaaS
Obviously, most vendors in the HR software sphere aren’t advertising products that have such serious limitations as those you might see with “pure” SaaS. They may work with one of a variety of different multi-tenancy structure approaches that securely segregate each client’s data and offer some flexibility in tailoring the application to the client’s needs. In addition, many SaaS vendors give customers the option of whether or not to deploy various updates based on the impact this would have on the client’s other systems.
Some SaaS vendors even offer a distinct instance of their application for each client that can be customized to match an HR department’s unique business rules. They also completely partition one client’s data and software application from the next by creating separate “virtual” servers. With the advent of cloud computing and server virtualization software, this has become a way for SaaS vendors to offer customization and higher security without driving up the cost of their products too much.
Emerald Software Group Offers Hybrid Options
A number of vendors in the HR field offer on-premise software, a multi-tenancy model of SaaS, and a dedicated instance of their application delivered online. However, in the onboarding niche this is not the case. Virtually all of Emerald Software’s direct competitors offer only an SaaS version of their onboarding software with no on-premise version available. We don’t believe in turning customers away when we can accommodate their needs by staying on top of clients’ demands for flexible options. That’s why we have so many different choices available including licensed, hosted, and managed versions of our onboarding software.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Why SaaS Is Working For HR – Part 3
One of the primary reasons HR departments turn to SaaS solutions for niche applications is to avoid involving IT in the day to day support of these programs. However, there is simply no avoiding the fact that a really useful piece of software doesn’t operate in a vacuum. It has to be integrated effectively with the rest of the HRIS portfolio to fulfill its true potential. As this 2008 article from informationweek.com points out, it’s not installing an SaaS app that is costly and challenging – it’s the integration that can be problematic. Too often, employers end up footing the bill in terms of IT labor for this stage in the implementation process.
However, as customers become more aware of the potential hidden costs of SaaS solutions, vendors are being forced to step up to the plate. With a ‘pay as you go’ model, it’s just too easy for businesses to switch to a different provider if they aren’t satisfied. When very little integration has been accomplished, it is relatively simple for customers to extricate themselves from a relationship with a specific SaaS vendor. It is in the best interests of vendors to step in and take some responsibility for ensuring that their products can be readily integrated without a huge time investment on the customer’s side. The more systems an SaaS solution is connected with in a client’s software environment, the less sense it makes for HR to start over with another vendor.
HR Is Still In Control
Fortunately, one of the great things about SaaS for HR is that some of the most common problems are those that you don’t have to be an IT specialist to understand and anticipate. That puts HR in the position of being able to sniff out and avoid some potential problems before the stage where IT has to become involved. The fewer SaaS solutions IT has to evaluate and reject as inadequate, the less frustrated they are likely to become with the whole process.
So, HR clients comparing SaaS options would do well to ask about integration capability up front. Taking the vendor’s word that their product is “really easy to connect to other applications” isn’t sufficient. Specifics are much more helpful. Here are some questions that may help HR narrow the field of competitors:
• Do you have templates and instructions put together for how to integrate your software with other commonly used HR programs?
• Can your API (Application Programming Interface) be used to connect your program with any other software that also features an open API?
• Will we need to use one or more third party integration tools or services to connect your application with our existing software solutions?
• If I give you a list of all the programs we need to connect to your software, can you tell me whether you have successfully completed an integration involving each one of them?
• What role will your technicians play in working with our IT department to ensure a successful integration?
• Can you describe the steps in a typical integration process for me and the average time to implementation?
• Have you ever had an integration attempt that just didn’t work out? If so, what alternative solution did you suggest to your customer?
The questions and answers will get a lot more technical from there, but at least the vendor’s responses will give you an idea of how much thought they put into integration when they designed their software -and how hands on they plan to be in helping your company with implementation. If they hem and haw and give you vague responses, that’s not a good sign. Do you want to see how a really responsive SaaS vendor acts when it comes to delivering top service and excellent integration capability? Give Emerald Software a call at 770-569-5122.
However, as customers become more aware of the potential hidden costs of SaaS solutions, vendors are being forced to step up to the plate. With a ‘pay as you go’ model, it’s just too easy for businesses to switch to a different provider if they aren’t satisfied. When very little integration has been accomplished, it is relatively simple for customers to extricate themselves from a relationship with a specific SaaS vendor. It is in the best interests of vendors to step in and take some responsibility for ensuring that their products can be readily integrated without a huge time investment on the customer’s side. The more systems an SaaS solution is connected with in a client’s software environment, the less sense it makes for HR to start over with another vendor.
HR Is Still In Control
Fortunately, one of the great things about SaaS for HR is that some of the most common problems are those that you don’t have to be an IT specialist to understand and anticipate. That puts HR in the position of being able to sniff out and avoid some potential problems before the stage where IT has to become involved. The fewer SaaS solutions IT has to evaluate and reject as inadequate, the less frustrated they are likely to become with the whole process.
So, HR clients comparing SaaS options would do well to ask about integration capability up front. Taking the vendor’s word that their product is “really easy to connect to other applications” isn’t sufficient. Specifics are much more helpful. Here are some questions that may help HR narrow the field of competitors:
• Do you have templates and instructions put together for how to integrate your software with other commonly used HR programs?
• Can your API (Application Programming Interface) be used to connect your program with any other software that also features an open API?
• Will we need to use one or more third party integration tools or services to connect your application with our existing software solutions?
• If I give you a list of all the programs we need to connect to your software, can you tell me whether you have successfully completed an integration involving each one of them?
• What role will your technicians play in working with our IT department to ensure a successful integration?
• Can you describe the steps in a typical integration process for me and the average time to implementation?
• Have you ever had an integration attempt that just didn’t work out? If so, what alternative solution did you suggest to your customer?
The questions and answers will get a lot more technical from there, but at least the vendor’s responses will give you an idea of how much thought they put into integration when they designed their software -and how hands on they plan to be in helping your company with implementation. If they hem and haw and give you vague responses, that’s not a good sign. Do you want to see how a really responsive SaaS vendor acts when it comes to delivering top service and excellent integration capability? Give Emerald Software a call at 770-569-5122.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
HR Onboading - My role at Emerald Software Group
Here at Emerald Software Group we are pushing the envelope in the employee onboarding solution space. We are not trying to capture the monolithic HRMS vendor space, or the Enterprise talent acquisition realm. We are trying to be the best "best of breed" vendor in-between! We convert a candidate to an employee and make it paperless! Not only that, but we take other important aspects of HR pain and solve it also: Employee Change events, Life cycle provisioning of items for employees, and more...
To accomplish this we need great software, great integration, and raving fans as clients.
My business partner and friend since 1999, Chuck Ros has stayed with me through thick and thin. We worked together in several corporate names, but together started Emerald Coast Software in Gulfport, MS in 2003. ECS was moved to Alpharetta, GA and renamed to Emerald Software Group in 2007. We grew from the 2 of us in a 150 square foot room, to over 13 team members and growing.
I provide back office support for the operation including our SaaS data center, Product Management, Professional Service and more.
This blog is meant to provide my talking post for my work realm. I hope to keep it informative for clients, non-clients, co-workers and anyone who will read. I hope it to be a place to get some good HR info out to the world.
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