For regulated industries, a cloud-driven – or Software as a Service (SaaS) – quality management system (QMS) and compliance solution offers several advantages over a traditional, on-site system.
We highlight the benefits of a cloud QMS for regulated industries.
Advantages of a cloud QMS and compliance system
There are many advantages of a cloud QMS and compliance system for regulated industries – from easier and faster access to data, to enhanced data security, scalability and cost savings.
When evaluating a SaaS provider, consider security practices, data protection, and system recovery deliverables that meet your organization’s compliance requirements.
Faster and easier to implement
Compared to an on-site QMS, cloud-based software solutions are quick and easy to implement. A business simply subscribes to a service. The number of users – at any location, anywhere in the world – can be increased at any time.
With cloud-based, modular software like isoTracker’s system, you get cross-organizational quality, compliance and content management. And you can trial it free for 60 days. It’s that quick and easy.
Greater data visibility
To manage quality effectively, regulated industries need visibility into data. Often, legacy QMS systems operate in silos, making it difficult to integrate additional systems, such as regulatory and manufacturing. This results in limited insights into the data across an organization.
A cloud QMS offers greater data visibility by enabling flexible and easy integration of external systems. A cloud-based centralized repository enables quick access to and easy analysis of and insight into data.
Better data security
Many organizations fear that moving a QMS – and therefore data – off site creates security, IT, business, legal and compliance risks. In reality, data is more secure in the cloud than within the walls of an organization’s buildings.
Cloud providers employ rigorous and proactive safeguards to protect data, greatly improving security. Services are actively monitored with disruption and costly downtime minimized.
Cloud models are either public, private or hybrid clouds, with a private cloud offering the most security and flexibility.
When evaluating providers, an organization must consider the impact of a disaster and assess its needs for:
- Recovery Time Objective (RTO): a target time for the resumption of activities an organization can withstand without dramatically impacting production, finances or regulatory risk. The best providers ensure rapid recovery of as little as five minutes.
- Recovery Point Objective (RPO): the amount of transactional losses a business is able to sustain. A potential loss of 15 minutes should be a worst-case scenario.
Inherently scalable
A QMS must be able to scale quickly and easily, which is impossible with an in-house QMS.
A cloud QMS can scale to accommodate increased utilization and expanded processes rapidly and easily with no disruption to operations.
Managed services and customer support
An on-site QMS requires considerable management of software and hardware, using up an organization’s time and resources.
The vendor of a cloud QMS offers managed services and full-time dedicated customer support, which reduces or completely eliminates the need for internal IT admin and operational expenses.
A support team maintains strict performance standards and understands the quality and compliance needs of regulated industries.
Much lower cost of ownership
On-site quality solutions carry considerable upfront and maintenance costs. Think of the capital outlay for servers, network infrastructure, workstations and data centers, as well as staff to maintain and manage this hardware.
A cloud QMS cuts these out. The host carries the responsibilities and costs of hardware, and your business no longer has to pay for IT staff to manage it.
Your costs are the subscription fees you pay for the software. And you have free access to and automatic updates to any software developments, so you’re always using the latest version.
A scalable cloud QMS for regulated industries
Founded in 2004, isoTracker delivers cloud-based quality management software solutions to businesses, ranging from small enterprises to large corporations.
Our customers span regulated industries from healthcare and consumer products to manufacturing, aerospace, mining, oil and gas.
Some benefits of isoTracker’s cloud QMS for regulated industries:
- designed specifically for compliance with ISO and other quality standards
- scalable and modular, so you can get only what you need
- priced based on company size and needs
- much less expensive than most comparable systems
- free 60-day trial and free help and training resources.
To learn more about isoTracker’s cloud QMS for regulated industries, contact us online or sign up for a free 60-day trial.
