Guide to SaaS HR Software: On-Demand Solutions Explained

A Guide to SaaS:
HR Software On Demand

Cezanne Software White Paper

Cezanne Software Ltd · T: +44 (0)20 7202 9300 · F: +44 (0)20 7202 9321 · E: info.uk@cezannesw.com · www.cezannesw.com

Contents

• Introduction 3

• What is SaaS? 4

• Food for thought 8

• Finding the right supplier 10

• About Cezanne 11


Introduction - 3

Introduction

Businesses today rely heavily on For the IT team, it’s a chance to liberate IT
information technology to increase resources as the overheads associated with
ongoing software and hardware maintenance
efficiency and drive performance.
and upgrades go away. IT costs are more
For HR, an effective, up to date transparent, because nearly all of the
software system is essential if services are provided by the SaaS supplier
they are to keep pace with the and invoiced on a subscription basis, while
demands of today’s workforce service level agreements ensure that those
Julie Windsor, and their own organisations. using the system receive timely support
Cezanne Software without internal IT staff needing to intervene.
In the past, adopting new HR software was
often a costly, slow and unwieldy process. Companies of all sizes can benefit from
Upgrading existing systems to meet new SaaS solutions – and indeed they are
business requirements was equally painful. already being used in a wide variety of
But thanks to the growing use of Software settings, not just for HR, but also in areas
as a Service (SaaS), organisations now such as finance and customer relationship
have the ability to be much more agile when management. In fact, estimates suggest
it comes to implementing new solutions to that spending on SaaS solutions could
meet the latest business challenges. increase by as much as 500 per cent
over the next four years.
SaaS allows clients to subscribe to software
and the system it is hosted on, rather than
having to buy and maintain the HR software “SaaS has proved itself as a secure,
and everything that’s required to run it. cost effective and time efficient
There are enormous benefits – in terms approach for companies wishing to
of cost, flexibility, speed of implementation, implement talent management and
simplicity and scaleability – all of which are HR software systems.”
described later in this report.
Carlo Ugdulena,
It’s a model for delivering HR software that CEO, Cezanne Software
has become increasingly popular over the
past five years and is now set to boom
as organisations find themselves under This report aims to give HR professionals
increasing pressure to cut costs, cope with and other managers a clearer picture of how
complexity and manage their people in SaaS works, what advantages it can bring
new and more effective ways. and what questions they might need to ask
a potential supplier. Key issues, such as
For HR departments, SaaS offers an data security, are also explored, and there
opportunity to acquire up to date HR are some examples of how leading global
software solutions that meet their specific companies are benefiting from SaaS.
requirements without having to negotiate
with IT for the resources to implement and We hope you find it a useful resource that
maintain the HR software, or the technical will help you develop a better understanding
infrastructure that’s required to run it. With of SaaS and help you make a clear business
SaaS, the HR function is less reliant on their case for its use in your organisation.
IT department and more able to drive their
own agenda within their own time-line.

Cezanne Software Ltd · HR Software On Demand: A Guide to Software as a Service

4 - What is SaaS?

What is SaaS?

Software as a Service (SaaS) is front or tying up precious capital in
a flexible and low cost way for assets, such as IT hardware, that may
rapidly become obsolete. Instead, the
businesses to access the latest
investment is transformed into smoother
software, without having to pay the operational expenditure.
traditional hefty up-front licence
fee or acquire the IT infrastructure • Good return on investment: Research
required to run it. They simply pay from Knowledge Infusion, a leading
a monthly subscription to cover Human Resources consulting organisation,
suggests that SaaS solutions are often
the specific aspects of the
half the cost of an internally-hosted
software they require. solution. Another report, by Forrester,
puts return on investment at 26 per cent,
The vendor provides everything that
with payback within 12-24 months.
is needed to run the service, including
hardware, software infrastructure, security On the surface, if a straight comparison
features and support. Users simply log on is done between SaaS fees and an on-
and access their own personal version of premise licence, SaaS may appear to
the software via the web. be more expensive. But the picture can
change significantly when all the factors –
Importantly, true SaaS vendors provide regular
such as internal IT resource, maintenance
updates and enhancements to the system,
costs and the cost of updates – are taken
which are automatically added at regular
into account.
intervals. This ensures that customers always
have the very latest functionality without the The financial benefits will, of course,
overheads associated with updating traditional vary from company to company and all
in-house or hosted applications. organisations will need to conduct their
own cost analysis and weigh up the pros
What are the benefits? and cons.
• Lower up-front investment: With SaaS,
there is no need for companies to invest • Speedier results: Procurement processes
in building IT infrastructures with multiple are usually much simpler and faster for a
servers and all the associated operating subscription-based product. There’s no
systems, databases, firewalls and back software or hardware required, so you
up facilities needed to keep systems up are not reliant on other vendors or your IT
and running and ensure sensitive HR department to scope and purchase the
information remains safe. supporting software and IT infrastructure.

Everything that is required to run True SaaS solutions are usually easier
the system is hosted and managed to implement too, as the vendor will have
externally by the vendor from a central a standardised process in place to get
location and users simply pay a monthly you up and running quickly. However,
fee to use the service. as with any system that’s designed to
support relatively complicated business
This subscription-based approach processes, it will still be necessary to
means that in accounting terms, costs set up the system to reflect your own
are regarded as operating costs rather business and perhaps also migrate
than capital expenditure. This can make existing data to the new SaaS solution.
it easier to get budgets signed off, as you
are not asking for huge lumps of cash up


What is SaaS? - 5

Case Study: NEC
Leading technology company NEC Europe is using Cezanne’s software to
consolidate its HR data and build a consistent approach to managing its people.
NEC Corporation is one of the world’s leading providers of cutting-edge IT & Network solutions for both the
public and private sector. The business has a long history of technological innovation in computing and
telephony and today has products ranging from sophisticated servers and super computers to the latest
satellite and security systems.

Over the past three years, NEC has been undergoing a major restructuring project, known as ‘One NEC’,
designed to exploit the synergies across its global business. As part of the re-organisation, the European
Regional Headquarter (NEC Europe Ltd) was strengthened, bringing together a core group of nine
companies operating in 18 countries.

A regional HR function was established, headed up by HR and Business Support General Manager Luca
Vanni. The task facing him was huge. Prior to the re-structuring, individual countries managed HR on an
independent, local basis. There was a myriad of different policies and procedures and HR data was held
locally on very basic Excel spreadsheets.

“We needed to very quickly create a common and consistent approach to HR and started to look around
for a system that could support that,” explained Vanni. “The number of employees involved was not huge,
but it was a very complex and dispersed environment. We had to find a software solution that could be
implemented speedily, was good value for money and had enough flexibility to grow with us as our HR
practice evolved.”

Finding the right solution
“The SaaS route brought speed and flexibility to the project and also meant we could be independent of our
internal IT resource and had no need to bring in any additional expertise” explained Luca Vanni. “I think this
method of delivery is definitely the way forward, because otherwise you risk creating a giant data centre
within the business with the resultant problems of having to update and maintain the system and employ
specialist people to manage it. Hosting the system externally means
you can update it quickly and easily as needs evolve and you can
concentrate on basic user skills rather than specialist expertise.”

He admits to having some initial concerns about being able to
customise Cezanne’s On Demand to meet NEC’s specific needs but
says these were quickly overcome. The rich functionality has meant
there is plenty of scope to configure the system to accommodate even
quite complex circumstances and requirements. “The level of flexibility
with a SaaS solution is always going to be a bit less than with an in-
house solution, but so far, Cezanne has been able to help us find a
way to configure the system to overcome any problem we have
faced,” he says.

Vanni adds that an externally hosted solution also helped to overcome
some of the access and security problems associated with a dispersed
environment, where different countries hold their systems on different
local area networks. “It meant we were able to make the system
accessible right across the business very quickly,” he says.

Luca Vanni


6 - What is SaaS?

• Reduced pressure on IT teams: IT Updates are usually made during
departments, in common with HR, scheduled maintenance windows, so
are often hard-pressed to keep up with there is minimum disruption to clients and
the constant changes going on in the the new features are simply there waiting
organisation. They are, of course, not just for them the next time they log on.
supporting HR but providing a service to
the whole business with the conflicting With true SaaS, clients also benefit
demands that brings. from much more frequent product
enhancements than with the older
With SaaS, there is a limited requirement -style applications. That’s because
for the internal IT team to be involved on these solutions have been built from
a day-to-day basis as virtually all of the the ground up around a new product
activities associated with managing architecture, sometimes known as multi-
and maintaining the system are the tenant. In this environment, clients have
responsibility of the SaaS vendor. their own dedicated instance of the
software, but ‘share’ a single code base.
That also means that new SaaS-based HR
systems can usually be implemented more This means that, rather than juggle
quickly because projects are not reliant the conflicting demands of maintaining
on changes being made to the internal IT different releases, as traditional software
infrastructure, and don’t get pushed to suppliers have to do, SaaS vendors can
the bottom of the pile by other priorities. concentrate on adding new features to just
a single code base. Everyone is always on
For smaller companies with limited IT the latest release of the software.
resources, or businesses with high IT
staff turnover, SaaS provides another • Scaleability: Companies are not static.
advantage too. You don’t need to worry Needs change as organisations grow,
about how to manage your HR system if restructure, merge, acquire new
key people leave, as the knowledge – and businesses or simply change focus.
responsibility – is with the SaaS vendor. Updating an internally-hosted IT system
to reflect these changes can be an
• Continuous Improvements: One of the unwieldy process.
biggest frustrations with traditional in-
house or externally hosted HR software Increasing the scope of an on-premise
systems is the amount of time it can take system may, for example, involve having
to upgrade them as needs change or to invest in extra hardware. With SaaS,
new features become available. the vendor will be operating in a large-
scale environment where there is plenty
It’s often a costly exercise, both in terms of spare capacity and these kinds of
of money and resources, and sometimes changes can usually be accommodated
calls for a complete re-install. very quickly.

The beauty of true SaaS is that systems are
updated seamlessly. Vendors simply add
enhancements to the system on a regular
basis, ensuring clients always have the
latest features and the best functionality.


What is SaaS? - 7

Snapshot Case Study: UCI
Spanish finance company UCI
is using Cezanne’s On Demand
solution to speed up and improve
the efficiency of its people
management processes.

Union de Creditos Inmobiliarios (UCI) is a
leading mortgage provider with more than 40
branches in Spain, Portugal and Greece.
Part of the Santander group, it employs
around 900 people.

The business has developed significantly in recent years and recognised that it had outgrown the internal
IT systems being used to co-ordinate recruitment and management of employees.

“We were using a number of different internal systems and wanted to shift to one programme that would
allow us to consolidate our data and manage everything from recruitment to training in a consistent way,”
explained Jorge Garcia, Selection and Training Manager at UCI.

The business is using the people, recruitment, training and performance management modules of the On
Demand solution. It opted for the Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery model because of the ability to
rapidly update and expand functionality as the company’s needs evolved.

The availability of a support team who could deal quickly and efficiently with any questions or issues was
also a key factor in the decision.

“It is important for us to be able to quickly add new tools or bring in additional modules as the business grows
and develops and our needs change,” says Jorge Garcia. “Cezanne On Demand has helped us significantly
speed up our recruitment process and develop a more consistent approach to managing our people”.


8 - Food for thought

Food for thought

A proposed move to SaaS can
lead to healthy debate within
organisations. As well as having
to make a strong business case,
HR teams often find themselves
having to respond to concerns
about how some aspects of the
service will work in practice.

These are the issues that are most
commonly raised:
Security
Data security is, quite understandably, a big
concern for organisations. HR information
is highly sensitive. Companies don’t want
details about their employees getting out ‘layers’, so that each users’ permission
into the public domain – and of course they to access or change information is
have legal responsibilities too. carefully controlled.
The reality is that good SaaS vendors offer • Roles Based Access: A secure system
an extremely high level of security – often will give you control over exactly who
better than can be achieved by an internal can access what information – while
system – because their business depends at the same time ensuring people can
on keeping everyone’s data safe. see the information they need to see.
Where systems are deployed globally,
Their systems are tried and tested – and of this security also needs to take into
course there are plenty of other precedents account the legislative requirement of
for the safe out-sourcing of organisational individual countries.
data. Payroll systems, for example, have
been handled successfully by third parties • Embedded Reporting: The procedure
for many years. for pulling reports off the system needs
to be at the same security level as the
The key is to ensure that any potential procedure for inputting and managing the
vendor’s system can provide the following: information in the first place. Reporting
tools need to be fully integrated in the
• Secure Product Architecture: In other security of the system, so users cannot
words, a system that is built in several pull reports directly off the database and
bypass system security.

“Our reputation as a supplier rests in part on being able • Secure Data Centre: A good SaaS vendor
to provide our customers, many of whom are major multi- will use a recognised, established data
nationals, with a level of service and data security that’s centre that has proved itself to be best
as good as – if not better than – the service available from in class. Cezanne’s On Demand SaaS
their internal IT facilities.” solution, for example, is hosted by BT,
which has a state of the art data centre
Andrew Paul, providing both stringent security controls
Director of Customer Services, Cezanne Software. as well as exceptional connectivity to BT’s
global network.


Food for thought - 9

• Strong Internal Processes: Organisations Put more simply, there are not many
need to ensure their vendor’s own internal scenarios they haven’t come across before
security procedures are watertight. The by now – and a good system will already
delivery of Cezanne’s On Demand SaaS have been built to cover most eventualities.
solution, for example, is independently
audited and certified by LRQA, a member Most SaaS products will include
of Lloyd’s Register Group, for ISO27001: configuration tools that allow you to make
2005 – the international standard for changes to the system so that it ‘fits’ with
information security management systems. your organisation. For example, you may
be able to rename fields so they have titles
which are recognisable within your business,
add new fields, create your own reports or
adapt search filters so they produce the
specific information you need.

Creating the right internal culture
HR departments may find themselves
having to negotiate their way carefully
through some ‘internal politics’ when
a move to SaaS is first mooted.
Customisation vs Configuration In most cases, IT and HR departments both
Organisations are sometimes concerned see the benefits to this alternative method
that a SaaS product will not give them of delivery and are able to work happily
enough flexibility to meet their specific together towards successful implementation.
needs. There is a perception that it is an ‘off
the shelf’ piece of software that they won’t In some cases, however, the IT team can
be able to adapt to fit their requirements. see the introduction of SaaS as a threat. If
the IT department is particularly strong or
It is of course true that with SaaS, all customers influential within the business, they may
are using the same core product, but that perceive that they are losing some of their
doesn’t mean that it can’t be configured to power base.
suit individual organisational needs.
In an organisation that is under pressure to
It’s important to understand the difference cut costs, they may be concerned it could
between customisation and configuration. lead to job losses.

With customisation, you get a solution that In reality, outsourcing the HR system
is built to meet very specific organisational can often free up funds and resources for
needs. This comes at a high price – other strategic IT projects. It is important,
particularly when you need to upgrade however, to be aware of these possible
or make changes to the system. It is sensitivities and to work closely with the IT
also unnecessary for the vast majority of team to demonstrate a strong business
organisations – although there may be a case for the change.
few with unique, specialised processes
that require a high level of customisation. It makes sense to get others who can act as
‘champions’ on board at an early stage too.
A good SaaS system will come with Senior managers, company directors and
rich functionality that is likely to cover even the finance department can help you
everything most businesses will need. win over key gate keepers – especially if you
The market for HR software is a mature can combine a strong business imperative
one and developers have a wealth of with the SaaS financial proposition.
knowledge and experience about the
features organisations are likely to require.


10 - Finding the right supplier

Finding the right supplier

A good vendor will be willing to help • What kind of support is available on an
you gain a thorough understanding on-going basis? Is training provided to
get you up and running?
of how SaaS works and whether it
is right for your organisation. • What service level agreements are
in place? You may want to look at the
Here are some key questions you might want guaranteed availability of the system –
to ask a potential supplier – and some issues and check this against actual performance
you might want to think through yourself: over the last 3, 6, 12 months. Vendors
should have these reports as standard.
Questions to ask your vendor
• Are increases to the subscription fee
• What security processes are in place to capped?
protect your organisation’s data? How
• What is the notice period if you decide
do they match up against your own
to cancel?
internal processes?
• How do you get your data back?
• Have these been independently audited
and certified to a recognised standard? The
two to look out for are ISO27001 and SAS Questions to ask yourself
70 Type II. The latter is a US standard, • What evidence will you need to establish
and is based around financial auditing a strong business case for investing in a
processes. The former is a European-wide new HR system?
standard focused specifically on security.
• Is SaaS right for you? Are there specific
• How often are security processes regulatory issues or unique processes in
reviewed and re-audited? your business that means SaaS would
• Are they using an established, reputable not be an appropriate solution?
data centre? If not, you may want to • What are the objections you are likely to
spend some time benchmarking their encounter if you decide to go with SaaS?
data centre against those with an
established track record. • Who internally can help you gather the
information you need to put together
• Where is their data centre based? If it a convincing case?
is not in Europe, you’ll need to consider
European data protection legislation. • Is a proposal to move to an externally-
hosted system likely to be welcomed by
• Can the system be configured to meet the IT team? If not, what will you need
your specific requirements? If so, what to do to get them on board?
kind of changes can you make to the
system yourself and what will need to • Who else do you need to involve in the
be handled externally? selection process?

• How often do they update the system with • Are there specific processes you need
new features? You may want to ask them to support? If so, you’ll need to give
to provide you with recent release notes. yourself enough time. There is no point
in rushing to meet deadlines if you have
• How are updates managed and what to compromise the quality of your
input is needed from you? For example, selection process and implementation.
is the process seamless, or might you
have to re-implement configurations • How will you implement the solution?
that you have made? • What level of support and training will
they need?


About Cezanne - 11

About Cezanne

Cezanne Software is a leading supplier of global HR and Talent
Management software systems delivered on both a Software as
a Service (SaaS) and on premise basis. Headquartered in the UK,
Cezanne Software has over 20 years’ experience of working with
some of the world’s leading organisations. Today, it supports over
700 organisations, including companies as diverse as Vodafone,
HM Prison Service, Swarovski, TNT, Kempinski, LINPAC, & TSYS Europe.

The company’s integrated suite of Human Resource systems include solutions for people
management, succession and career planning, employee performance management, survey,
training administration, recruitment and pay review, and reflect many years’ experience of
working with clients, independent consultants and academics at the forefront of best practice
in HR, talent and compensation management. Designed around modern web technologies,
Cezanne’s HR systems offer extensive support for manager and employee self-service and
can be deployed in house or on a Software as a Service basis, providing significant benefits
in terms of both cost and speed of deployment.

Cezanne Software’s focus is to provide flexible, people-centred Human Resource systems
that improve the day-to-day execution of HR and business strategies, help drive critical
employee performance and reward processes and enable companies to achieve and
sustain a competitive talent advantage.

Further Information

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