Why Switch from On-Prem PlaceOS to Cloud Based?

I have worked in the smart building/workplace field for over a decade. Over that time, I have seen technology trends come and go; buzzwords enter the lexicon (IoT, Digital Twins) and, more recently, new ways of enterprise purchasing and IT deployment. I am pleased about that latter point. Let me explain why. 

When Steve, Will and I started in this space- the cloud was just for file storage, email and consumer products. ‘On-Prem’ was always mandated by tenders and RFPs. And these deployments had to be engineered in a very particular way to match the specific IT environment for each client. Back then, our clients still had physical servers or a section of a data center. Can you imagine running a start-up where every project meant new architecture for your product?  This creates so many complexities. Even simple ones like internal buyers and project managers have to understand enterprise IT architecture, when all they want is to book a room and find a desk! No wonder the sales process and project go longer than anyone (client and supplier) would like. 

Today, we still deploy onto client-managed cloud instances (and have developed an excellent deployment team), but a cloud-hosted service is now the most common way clients use PlaceOS. There are many benefits to consuming PlaceOS as a hosted service. 

It is one architecture to manage (good for us!) with no big bugs (good for you!). Each new client is an onboarding process rather than an engineering process. It is predictable as we don’t get obscure site-specific bugs. This flips the script; architecture issues are rare, with over a hundred floors already on our hosted PlaceOS solutions. And anything that comes up is in our control to fix, it's also fast. We have a recent global client for whom we enabled six regions in six weeks (over twelve buildings). 

As a hosted subscription, your PlaceOS solution stays current; there is no need to run another project to receive new features and improvements. Each PlaceOS App and Suite has a roadmap of new features based on feedback from daily users across the world’s best workplaces. Breaking the solution away from a physical deployment allows you to extend the user experience into the home or multiple locations. Flexible working requires flexible architecture. 

A hosted subscription opens up new internal funding options. You could purchase three years up-front for a significant discount if you have a capital budget. Or you can buy with your operating budget yearly, with a lower upfront capital requirement. Which also allows you to adjust how much you use each year. 

We understand that your organisation may not support cloud applications, so we still offer the On-Prem pption. But if you are interested in one of our hosted options (Apps, Suites and Naked Platform), we offer any existing PlaceOS (or ACAEngine) customer 30% off their first year's subscription. 

Please let us know if this interests you, and we can discuss a rollout and transition plan.

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