AssurX provides the key requirements to consider when evaluating cloud based quality management (QMS) software.

Software as a Service (SaaS), otherwise known as cloud-based computing, has become a widely accepted concept. Even the EQMS world is becoming more comfortable. Ten years ago, it was virtually unheard of for a regulated company to agree to have a vendor host their software. Those companies were paranoid about having their systems and data controlled by someone else with the chief concerns being security and loss of control. However, as the technology has progressed and IT budgets have been reduced, these companies have become more amenable to the idea of cloud-based software.


Selecting a Cloud Software Platform
If I’m in the market for a new software platform what should I look for? Some software vendors claim that most cloud-based QMS software is really dedicated to each customer and they’ve gone on to say that that’s bad. The best software is multi-tenant— and you should never choose a local on-premise install.

Quite frankly, when I see anyone make sweeping generalizations like this I’m fairly certain that means their systems are limited to a single approach. Plus, they’re trying to convince you that all other options are bad.

The other issue to consider is software validation. Regulated customers normally will have to show that they’ve performed some sort of validation. This is true for patches and upgrades that are performed. The benefit of a cloud-based system is that the software vendor does these upgrades for you, but then how do you validate them? If you’re in a multi-tenant environment this might be difficult because everyone gets upgraded at the same time. Consider this when you’re vetting a cloud-based provider. What is it that you require and will they accommodate it?

Let Your Requirements Dictate Your QMS Solution