Since the inception of YourMembership.com’s product, we’ve been “in the cloud.” For technology enthusiasts this means a lot of things involving servers and data but to many users it means receiving new features immediately — no downloads, no installs, no waiting. They log on, it’s there. Talk about instant gratification!
The downside of this sort of “cloud computing” is that we release 150 – 200+ enhancements and features a year. Six months after you buy our product, you may have close to 100 new features to become acclimated with, and when you have software that resides in the cloud it is possible to ignore these new features. There’s no button or icon that pops up to ask you if you want to install them (that happens automatically). It’s easy for them to slip your mind. But if you allow yourself to “get stuck in the past” and not stay up-to-date on software releases then you miss out on the full benefit of these new features and software hosted in the cloud.
Feature exploration and staying up-to-date on software offerings allow you to maximize the power of your chosen software. You may find with staying abreast of feature launches you are less likely to require new solutions. Launching features through the cloud allows your software to keep up with your own productivity. It means less downtime and more efficiency.
When looking for a software vendor that operates in the cloud (otherwise known as SaaS – software as a service), take some time to find out how often they release new features. Then explore any hidden costs associated with continued training. A vendor who offers frequent feature releases should also cover the cost of training on those releases (YM does). If you must pay for training each time a new feature or enhancement is launched, those new features tend to lose their appeal quickly.
