Everyone is getting their heads in the Cloud and HR should be no exception. It may be the Cloud buzz (Cloud computing), and SaaS (software-as-a-service) and a host of other reasons, mostly to reduce expenses and increase IT department efficiency. The two major changes noted above are making inroads the way employees, individuals, and companies manage their processes critical to meet the competitive and innovative demands that businesses are challenged with daily.
For those not current on what the Cloud is here is a tactical definition: the Cloud is where data and apps ca be stored remotely and accessed via the web.
Human Resources is no exception and should not put their heads in the sand over Cloud computing. SaaS and iCloud are changing the way businesses operate and HR is no exception to this change. These technology changes are driving traditional IT departments to rethink how they operate, save data, and utilize manpower and the constant fixed costs of software updates and security patches. SaaS can change a stagnate organization into a nimble, effective and innovative machine as well as controlling operational costs. It can also create improved service levels and eliminate SLAs that mean nothing. Thinking farther, SaaS is scalable where some traditional organizations are not. That changes the competitive landscape dramatically.
So, if you as the HR executive think that only you or your company must have proprietary data storage, think again. Take a look at SAP, Oracle, and the other major players. The world will change and you better think differently and change with it or be left behind. To quote John Malikowski, "SaaS is an efficient way to accelerate HR transformation and capture value faster".