Software as a Service Offering (SaaS) FAQ

Making the move from on-premise software to software as a service (SaaS) is an increasingly popular way of using software in the workplace. Gathering the right information is the key to choosing the right solution from the right vendor – and ultimately, deriving the most value from your new SaaS application. This document is intended to highlight some common questions and concerns associated with the SaaS versions of our software.

1. Security

What protections does Strategic Systems use to protect our data?

Strategic Systems' SaaS software is hosted on the Google Cloud only on U.S.-based servers.

Google invests heavily in securing its infrastructure, which is designed to keep your data secure throughout the entire information processing lifecycle. The security of this infrastructure is designed in progressive layers:

  • Operational Security
  • Internet Communication
  • Storage Services
  • User Identity
  • Service Deployment
  • Hardware Infrastructure

For more information please read Google Infrastructure Security Design Overview.

All application development is U.S. based. In an effort to prevent breaches or theft and ensure that only authorized users have access to your application and related data at all times, we have put the following safeguards in place:

  • Criminal background checks for all employees.
  • Restricted access through keycard entry and monitoring.
  • Locked, climate-controlled Server rooms operating with
  • Uninterruptable Power supplies and redundant internet connections.
  • 24/7 recorded video monitoring of all facilities.
  • Encrypted connections between our facility and Google’s Cloud Services.
  • Application data encrypted in transit and at rest.
  • Restricted access to consumer data.
  • Technology-leading hardware firewall with intrusion detection and protection.

2. Data Retention & Ownership

What are Strategic Systems' policies regarding our data and data portability?

All rights to your data are maintained by you. We provide you the ability to easily export your data and take it elsewhere, if desired.

  • Your contact data will never be shared with or sold to a third party, except for the limited purposes described in our Privacy Policy.
  • So long as your account is active, you have full access to your information, for viewing or transfer, at any time.
  • Information can be downloaded in a variety of popular formats.

3. Performance and Availability

How will Strategic Systems maintain the continuity of our service, specifically with regard to uptime and disaster protection?

Google designs and builds its own data centers, which incorporate multiple layers of physical security protections. Google additionally hosts some servers in third-party data centers, where they ensure that there are Google-controlled physical security measures on top of the security layers provided by the data center operator.

4. Support

What type of support is included with this Service?

To assist in your ongoing success, Strategic Systems provides the following support services to our customers:

  • Flexible support options – web, email, phone and chat.
  • Support during standard business hours – Monday through Friday, 9AM–5PM EST.
  • A skilled, well trained team of Tier 1 and 2 support professionals.
  • The ability to submit an unlimited number of support tickets, at no additional cost.

5. Enhancements and Upgrades

How does Strategic Systems leverage the latest and greatest technologies?

Strategic Systems stays continuously educated about the newest technology developments in order to evaluate on an ongoing basis what is beneficial and appropriate for both our products and our customers. As a result, we are able to offer:

  • Frequent enhancement cycles, with new features rolled out several times each year.
  • Upgrades that require little or no effort – and minimal disruption (usually during off-peak hours) – on your part.
  • A formal mechanism for gathering customer feedback and suggestions, and incorporating this feedback into product roadmaps.

6. Integration

Can we link to or share information with on-premise systems?

The solution uses open, standards-based application programming interfaces (APIs) to provide automation of the application. APIs are commonly used by developers to integrate capabilities into new web-based applications and existing business management systems.

7. Contractual Flexibility

What contract options are available?

Our goal is to provide convenient, flexible contract options to address the widest range of budget needs. Here’s how it works:

  • The service is made available to you on an annual, per user basis through an effective subscription mechanism. This avoids large upfront costs associated with on-premise installation.
  • Purchase only the number of seats you need each year.
    Add or remove users on an annual basis as needed.

8. Single or Multi-Tenant?

What can you tell me about your infrastructure?

Strategic Systems uses a multi-tenant SaaS approach. Multi-tenancy refers to a principle in software architecture where a single instance of the software runs on a server, serving multiple client organizations (tenants). Multi-tenancy contrasts with multi-instance architectures where separate software instances (or hardware systems) operate on behalf of different client organizations. With a multi-tenant architecture, a software application is designed to virtually partition its data and configuration, and each client organization works with a customized virtual application.

Some of the more prominent benefits of this architecture include:

  • Greater scalability – capacity can be more rapidly increased, and when new hardware or processing power is added, the entire customer base benefits.
  • Improved performance – since just one technology stack must be monitored, it is easier to detect and correct performance problems.
  • Lower subscription fees – with multi-tenant, the vendor benefits from the economy of scale, which translates to lower subscription fees.
  • Better service – with only one platform to administer, vendors can provide more responsive services, for more rapid troubleshooting and problem resolution.
  • Faster upgrades – because there is just one single, centralized place to go to make enhancements, new software versions or patches can be deployed more rapidly.

9. References

Who else is using Strategic Systems’ solutions to track their fixed assets?

Since 1997, Strategic Systems’ solutions have been used by thousands of organizations to save time and money tracking fixed assets of all kinds.