Fear Not the Downturn, Talent Management as a Service is Economical

We’re in a downturn, economists say, on the verge of recession.  Is this the time to scale-back investments in information technology?

Not at all, according to CIOs and analysts quoted in a recent New York Times article regarding the state of technology spending.

The real danger may be in spending too little, thus putting your company behind the curve when it comes to the use of new technology.

Few would argue that the economy has hit a rough patch, which is why IT executives and line-of-business managers are making tougher decisions as to which systems are nice-to-have and which are must-haves.

Programs that foster stronger customer relationships and fuel sales opportunities will continue to be popular among large and midsized companies, while financial systems remain an integral part of any business.

Joining CRM and financials on center stage is talent management, software that has moved from the HR house to the executive suite as employee recruiting, compensation and performance have come to the fore.

Enabling the emergence of talent management in a tight economy has been the rise of Software as a Service, a truly disruptive model for delivering technology solutions.  Talent management software delivered as a service – otherwise known as “on-demand” – has a number of benefits over traditional on-premise software, including faster deployment, more efficient upgrades and, of significance to the HR manager as well as the CFO, much lower upfront costs.

As research and advisory firm Bersin & Associates noted in its report this month on talent management suites, “No matter the organization size, the business case for on-demand is compelling.”

To wit, the average customer might expect to spend approximately $525 per employee per year for access to Workstream’s on-demand talent management suite, a sizable discount compared to traditional licensed software and a breath of fresh air for the belt-tightening CFO.

A sagging U.S. economy will not hold back the talent management market, which analysts expect will grow to more than $4.0 billion in revenue by 2009.  Human resources and finance executives recognize clearly that an investment in people – a company’s greatest asset – is a bargain at any price.