Employee recognition service providers have everything to gain by using a SaaS platform to deliver their employee recognition programs to clients. In my previous article, I discussed the many benefits associated with SaaS technology solution such as increased speed to market, reduced infrastructure costs, affordability and scalability.

Since being introduced, SaaS technology solutions have significantly improved the way employee recognition program providers deliver their services to their clients. Essentially, there are two ways to improve your current employee recognition program to become a Saas-based system.

Choice #1: Build it from scratch. The first choice is to build the technology from scratch. This is a huge undertaking that will take years to complete and by the time you are ready to launch ready current SaaS providers have already advanced their solution 10 fold. Technological advances move quickly and while SaaS technology itself is a perfect example of this so is the recent Cloud revolution – for those that are looking to build your own SaaS platform the need for continual updates is just the beginning of what lies ahead.

Building your own platform will cost millions of dollars plus you will need to budget for a full time IT department to support your solution itself as well as your on-going client needs once it is built. There is no end to IT development if you truly want to keep up with the ever changing marketplace.

Choice #2: License your solution. The second and more attractive choice is to become a reseller or business partner of a fully developed SaaS-based employee recognition programs. A good SaaS solution provider for employee recognition programs will offer a completely white labelled "all in one" solution that often includes a fully developed "end-to-end" solution. Just license and you’re ready to hit the market.

Why re-invent the wheel – license your solution!

For those that see the shift to SaaS as a core requirement for staying competitive within the Employee Recognition marketplace but don’t want to make this kind of investment there are SaaS technology providers available today.

A complete "end-to-end" solution should include every employee recognition application there is today plus a full admin and communication center, social media and mobile applications.

One of the biggest benefits for licensing your SaaS technology solution is the reduced cost of ownership. This reduced cost of ownership happens because your solution is fully maintained and supported by your SaaS provider which means limited need for a dedicated IT team, no server hosting costs as well as access as and when you need IT support and all on a project basis only. All of the initial set-up costs, including development, infrastructure, training and support is included by your solution provider who should also deliver on-going updates that help your company to attract new client revenue streams as well as deliver ongoing added value to your clients.

In 2011, IT Channel Planet reported on an IBM survey conducted by Opinion Research Corp. The report revealed that mid-sized businesses are shifting investment priorities more toward innovation and growth, and a significant portion of resources are likely to be allocated towards SaaS computing. About 70 percent of the respondents intend to work with a local channel partner to help meet their technology objectives.

The information technology industry is extremely competitive and evolving at a rapid pace. Time can often mean the difference between a company’s success and failure. Partnering with other organizations has become one way that many companies dominate their market space quickly, swiftly and affordably.