New decade, new asset finance platform? As resolutions go, it’s a good one. And if you’ve been running a legacy system, the switch can help you adapt faster to ever-changing business models. But for true flexibility, don’t just update your software, update your software delivery model, too – and opt for what’s known as “continuous deployment.”

With continuous deployment, you get a fully managed service for your platform and then some.

As a matter of course, the vendor will host the software in the cloud, take care of all the infrastructure’s governance, control, security and compliance requirements – and deploy and monitor the application from day to day.

In other words, you get anytime, anywhere software that your users can access immediately online, without a drawn-out, in-house installation process – and all for a simple, recurring fee.

So far, so software as a service (SaaS). But actually, there’s a big difference between continuous deployment and SaaS.

For a start, continuous deployment doesn’t tie you down to a single version of your vendor’s software – or deliver exactly the same upgrades to all users at the same time. Instead, you set the pace and the vendor follows it.

If you want to deliver new functions and processes, or support new asset finance products and services, the vendor’s team will help you configure the software to your specifications. There will be no waiting around for development cycles and no fear of an unpredictable spike in costs either.

As well as providing new capabilities for your asset finance platform, the continuous deployment model and automated user acceptance testing (UAT) will make sure they work exactly as they should, before they go live for your customers.

By running and testing the processes first from end to end, in a real-time environment that closely mirrors your own, the vendor can effectively minimize the impact of upgrades and bespoke developments on your operations.

As a result, you can continually and quickly incorporate innovative changes into your production environment – with much less pressure on your internal resources.

That means a much greater ability to meet customers’ evolving expectations and differentiate your services.

So, for a regular, totally predictable cost, the continuous deployment delivery model will constantly get more from your new asset finance platform, while clearly setting your business apart from the competition.

What better way to kick off the 2020s?