While you may be familiar with Software as a Service (SaaS), have you heard of Hardware as a Service (HaaS)? If not, let us introduce you. 

HaaS offers businesses a simpler approach to commercial technology. Rather than purchasing your office equipment up front, a monthly subscription supplies your business with all necessary technology, ready to replace and upgrade at any time.

What makes HaaS different from renting or leasing? That would be the “service” part of the plan, which includes maintenance, upgrades, and assistance as needed. Some business managers may still wonder: why shouldn’t we own our technology?

There are many reasons companies forgo hardware ownership for HaaS instead. Here are our top three reasons your business can benefit from HaaS, too.

We’ve discussed the merits of managed services at length on these blog pages. The term SaaS (Software as a Service) is well understood in the IT lexicon and the technology world. Managed services are also starting to become well understood and, generally speaking, are all about delivering an outcome-based level of performance and service for a set monthly fee. So, what, then, is Hardware as a Service (HaaS), and how does it play into the world of managed services? 

For the most part, HaaS is the same concept as any other managed service. We’re going to use a consumer example here, and while it may not correlate directly to the commercial audio-visual world, it is illustrative. 

Volvo currently offers some unique leasing plans for some of its models. In fact, they don't call it a lease; they call it a subscription. Unlike common car leases, this one offers full maintenance (including tires), insurance, road hazard coverage, and almost everything you need to operate the vehicle but fuel. It doesn't even require a long-term commitment. It’s as close as you get in the auto world to the car as a service, where you get almost all the benefits of ownership without most of the downside.

HaaS for your Phoenix, AZ company can work in much the same way as Volvo’s subscription-based model, and then some. Let’s explore the HaaS model for AV and its benefits in more detail below.