Is your state or local agency still hesitant about the cloud? You’re not alone.

The Public Sector’s initial skepticism of cloud computing was driven by security and migration concerns. However, the success of cloud computing as on-demand delivery of various types of technology solutions such as storage, software development, business applications, data center activities and other IT-related services can no longer be discounted.

Amazon Web Services was among the first major cloud providers to comply with the federal government’s cloud security standards, and it’s the platform behind a number of innovative state and local government deployments. In fact, Amazon is even providing cloud services to the CIA.

AT&T is used by a number of public-sector agencies and touts its ability to secure agency resources and citizen data in the cloud. And Google Apps for Government has states like Wyoming, Colorado and Utah taking advantage of the cost, scalability and innovation associated with cloud capabilities.

Now that the barriers to cloud no longer exist, there has been tremendous demand for software as a service (SaaS) solutions that run in the cloud.

Here are a few benefits of cloud-based SaaS solutions in the public sector that can benefit your business:

• Reduced costs – With subscription-based SaaS applications, you don’t need to pay license fees, which means lower initial costs. And having a SaaS provider manage your IT infrastructure means you’ll also save money on hardware, software and employee overhead to manage it all.

• Painless upgrades – Another benefit of a SaaS-managed IT infrastructure is the management of updates and upgrades. Customers don’t have to download or install patches, and there’s no need to add hardware, software or bandwidth as your user base grows.

• Seamless integration – True SaaS providers, like NeoTreks, can create custom capabilities and scale indefinitely to meet demand. The addition of APIs can also let you integrate with existing enterprise and business productivity systems.

As a cloud-based SaaS solution, Plow Ops™ can help resource-constrained government agencies take advantage of cloud services to drive safety and efficiency during winter operations. Learn more about the power of Plow Ops™.