There’s far more to ‘Software as a Service’ than simply putting HR and other software packages online. As Phil Wainewright explains, it’s starting to change the entire way we source business services

Economic gloom has forced software vendors to rethink their marketing strategy and get creative in helping companies cut costs and identify poor performers, says Phil Wainewright

Even the best hosted services can stop working temporarily – and most of us aren’t ready for it when it happens. Phil Wainewright argues that both suppliers and customers need to be better prepared

Web-based software suppliers are now able to add capability from hundreds of third party products into their products, enriching them in ways that simply haven’t been possible before. It's great for users - but it does have some potential drawbacks, warns Phil Wainewright

Hosted services offer a subscription-based alternative to the upfront costs incurred in traditional software rollouts. But now the hosted pricing model is also coming under scrutiny, says Phil Wainewright

HR systems haven’t exactly been known for their snazzy user interfaces, but effective people management is all about getting employees and managers involved - and usability really matters. Now it's becoming a big battle ground for vendors

Are you fed up with having to adapt the way you work to suit the software you use? New types of hosted software now let you build your own applications, without all the hassle of maintaining them

Pricing models are an obvious differentiator when it comes to choosing software systems – but what about the way they manage data? Food distributor Chiquita Brands saw that as a major factor when it bought a hosted service, says Phil Wainewright

Moving to hosted services may make business sense to you – but what will your IT department think? To win it over, you’ll need to address a host of issues ranging from security to performance monitoring, says Phil Wainewright

The HR profession isn’t exactly renowned for being at the cutting edge of technology adoption, but it’s taking the lead in embracing new ways of using software. Phil Wainewright finds out why

Are we getting too carried away by all things web-related? Phil Wainewright argues that web-based working is still in its infancy, and for all the business potential of self-service and social networking, the human dimension never goes away

Everyone knows HR needs to get more ‘strategic’ – and automating administrative headaches can be a big help. Phil Wainewright meets an HR director who’s opted for a combination of self-service and outsourced services to cut the hassle

Reaching out to all potential candidates – not just the small minority of active jobseekers – is the best way to build a stellar recruitment strategy, argues Phil Wainewright. But how do you find them?

Managing expenses is a thankless process that usually starts with claims being submitted late, and goes downhill from there. The good news is that much of it can now be automated - but how far can you really go?

Are you making the most of web-based meeting technologies? They won’t just cut your travel costs – if a US accounting firm’s experiences are anything to go by, they could also help you reorganise the way you manage people

People management software can help organizations comply with best practice, but the technology needs to remain up-to-date. This is best achieved, says Phil Wainewright, through deploying out-of-the-box or Web-based products, which pool the expertise of many different practitioners

After witnessing the phenomenal growth of MySpace and YouTube, some organisations are curious to see whether social networking techniques can be applied at work. If you get it right, says Phil Wainewright, you could transform the way your people communicate and collaborate

The concept of supplying software as a hosted ‘service’ – where users access it online rather than installing it on their own machines – has usually been viewed as something for small and midsized businesses. But now, says Phil Wainewright, larger companies are also showing interest