Some of the most successful corporations around the globe use software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology to deliver quality services to customers. But SaaS solutions go far beyond texting on a smartphone, sending emails through Gmail, or streaming movies on Netflix. Companies with complex investment portfolios can also utilize the benefits of SaaS solutions for data aggregation, accounting, reporting, performance, compliance monitoring, risk awareness—the list goes on.
With the rise of SaaS, installed investment accounting solutions are becoming more obsolete and cumbersome to maintain. But even as The New York Times declares this “the era of cloud computing,” many corporations are still using outdated installed software for their investment accounting and analytics.
SaaS is web-based, meaning that it’s accessed via a web browser, rather than hosted on a user’s computer. SaaS solutions represent a full paradigm shift from clunky legacy systems that require costly updates and maintenance to seamless integration, automated updates, and endless scalability to a company’s changing needs. Because the software is hosted on the SaaS vendor’s own servers and accessed by users via the web, new functionality can be built, tested, and released at any time, and is available to users as soon as its deployed.
SaaS solutions not only embrace the software evolution, they also leverage the benefits of being web-based to create more efficient and effective ways to do business. For these reasons and more, best-in-class SaaS solutions are an appreciating asset—their relevance and worth only grow over time.
SaaS is designed to keep pace as technology and financial markets continue to rapidly change. They inherently provide greater automation, more sophisticated reporting, and increased data accuracy. SaaS solutions provide data security, data integration, and system scalability for organizations with evolving needs in a changing market. From pre- and post-IPOs to setting up treasuries, SaaS solutions can scale to a company’s needs without sacrificing security, accuracy, or seamless custodial integration.
Investment teams need to instantly integrate changing investment strategies, environments, and regulations. True SaaS solutions deliver that flexibility, access, accommodation, and much more. Best-in-class SaaS solutions provide:
To learn more about how software technology is changing, and what those changes mean for investment managers and their clients, read Clearwater’s white paper, The Evolution of Software.