WHAT GOOD IS THE SOFTWARE WITHOUT THE SERVICE?
While SaaS, cloud computing and all those buzzwords have become the next new thing, KWI has been providing Software as a Service for more than two decades.
The seeds of SaaS were planted in the 1970s with the emergence of service bureaus. By the 1990s this approach became outsourcing. By start of 21st century, it evolved to Managed Services or ASP - Application Service Provider. In the past few years the approach has advanced to become SaaS (or cloud computing).
- SaaS/Cloud Computing
(2008 - to present) - Managed Services/ASP
(2000-2007) - Outsourcing (1990's)
- Service
Bureaus (1970's/80's) - KWI (1985 - to present)
- 1970-1980
- 1990
- 2000-2007
- 2008
- 2009
Many technology companies have recently jumped on the SaaS bandwagon. But KWI has been providing full service technology solutions since the "service bureau" phase. We have founded and driven the trend. We understand and deliver SaaS better than anyone.
Every single day we are not simply hosting technology but closely monitoring our clients' business functions. We continually identify opportunities for improvement in technology and operations. We provide ongoing, embedded consultation at no extra charge — it's intrinsic to our partnership approach.
One other point: many so-called SaaS providers are owned by very large corporations with multiple areas of business. They put their R&D dollars across the whole organization, diluting their SaaS commitment.
We put everything into SaaS. It's our core business and our only business. As our founder Sam Kliger says, "We are zoom-focused on SaaS for retail."
Looking for the best in SaaS? We've got a 25-year lead. KWI has been providing Software as a Service since our founding in 1985. In fact, it's the basis of our company.
The inspiration started when a very young Sam Kliger connected with one of the original Benetton franchisees. As a young, visionary company, Benetton was looking for advanced technology to make their store operations as seamless and efficient as possible. And ideally, they needed a system that could be easily leveraged to accommodate their global expansion plans.
Sam quickly realized there were no technology solutions that addressed the specific needs of the retail industry. So, he invented his own system. Then Benetton, ever more visionary, decided to keep their focus on retailing and not dedicate resources to running IT. So Kliger-Weiss Infosystems was born … a technology solutions and total service provider. More than two decades later, the strength of KWI's full-service model is now being validated by a major industry shift towards SaaS, PaaS and all the other catch-phrases.
"It's no exaggeration to say KWI began the retail industry trend towards SaaS," reflects Sam Kliger today. "We were the first, and we're still the best.
It's a simple matter of long-term experience, coupled with my personal obsession for totally responsive customer service."
Adding to KWI's leading edge in SaaS is the fact that our staff is highly knowledgeable in both technology and retail. Many of our people worked on the "client side" before bringing their skills to KWI.
SaaS, PaaS, Cloud Computing … whatever you call it — at KWI, no matter how advanced our technology, our service commitment is never "in the clouds" — it's real and it's exceptional.