Higher Education

Multi-tenant SaaS solutions for higher education is right for your school?

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Did you know that when it comes to Software as a Service (SaaS), you have a choice between multi-tenant and single-tenant architecture for your institution? We’ll help spell out the difference, so you can make the best choice for your college or university.

Multi-tenant architecture offers some advantages when it comes to SaaS. Cost is one of the paramount reasons why a higher education institution might choose this solution. If you’re considering switching to multi-tenant SaaS solutions for higher education, here are some insights you’ll want to consider.

Multi-tenant is as the name implies. One solution shared across several organizations. It can be appealing because it’s cost-effective for the software provider and they often pass those savings to their customers. It means that all customers have the same version of software. And it’s important to understand that your data might not be segregated. You’ll have to decide if that is a concern for your institution.

But of all the differences, there is one major trade-off. Multi-tenant solutions will push out technology updates according to their timetable. Typically, as soon as the new functionality is ready to ship. However, that may or may not work with your school’s timetable. What if an update is pushed out during the close of your fiscal year? Or as you are preparing the budget for a board meeting? If you feel like you want to control the timing of software updates and when they are best implemented, then multi-tenant SaaS solutions may not be the best solution for you.

Another option is single-tenant SaaS solutions for higher education. In this scenario, you don’t have a “one size fits all” solution. Your software solution would be unique and can be customized for your institution’s needs. Your data would be segregated. And best of all, you can determine the timing of when product updates are implemented. Another added benefit is the fact that you can host the software yourself (“on premise”), an option not available on multi-tenant SaaS solutions.

It comes down to what you need the most: to control costs or to control your data and timing of application updates. As you research SaaS budgeting and forecasting solutions for higher education institutions, do your homework and ask detailed questions.

If you want an alternative to multi-tenant SaaS solutions for higher education or want to know how to best utilize your financial planning software, turn to Questica for quick and understandable answers. Since 1998, Questica has worked to make handling finances easier and better for colleges and universities. We manage over $63 million in annual budgets, and we want to help you. Please visit our website for more information and consider signing up for one of our free webinars.


Signs you should select single-tenant SaaS solutions over multi-tenant SaaS solutions for higher education


You want software customized to your specific needs

A huge benefit to single-tenant architecture is that it allows for customization. Budgeting and forecasting software for higher education needs to be robust. It’s typically worth the time and investment to customize the software for your school’s unique processes and integrations with other software. This isn’t an option with multi-tenant SaaS solutions for higher education.


You have a non-traditional fiscal year end

Many higher education institutions have a June 30th fiscal year end. If you need to control the timing of software updates and functionality improvements to ensure there is no disruption at specific times, you will benefit from a single-tenant SaaS solution.


You need your data to be segregated or you choose to host it yourself

There is no vendor option within multi-tenant SaaS solutions for you to host your purchased application on your own network. If your college or university requires segregated data hosted on your own network, then a single-tenant SaaS solution is the only option for you.

 

 

Questica has the single-tenant solution you’re looking for

If you can identify with the above scenarios, single-tenant SaaS solutions may be right for your college or university. When you’re considering which SaaS is best, look no further than Questica. We are a passionate team of technology experts and business specialists with decades of collective experience managing finances and budgeting software. You’ll be amazed at how much time and energy your business will save with dedicated financial software. To learn more about Questica and how our software can help you, download a whitepaper or take a product tour.

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