Training Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) ranks among the most unknown but useful technologies in the human resources arena for the cannabis industry. There are a variety of PaaS solutions that are in cloud-hosted environments and include infrastructure but no training or courses.
One of the chief benefits of PaaS is its ability to resolve a nagging problem for Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS): It can extend the functionality of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions that otherwise can’t be customized to meet HR’s unique cannabis training needs.
PaaS allows HR functions in cannabis businesses to develop and run new software applications without having to build or maintain the infrastructure usually needed to administer those apps. It also enables HRIS staff to add new functions to cloud software without conflicting with the frequent software updates delivered by SaaS vendors.
Here at Green CulturED, we’ve used PaaS to address unique training needs that couldn’t be met by its existing cloud Learning Management System (LMS) that operates under the SaaS model. PaaS can help close functionality gaps that arise during the implementation of SaaS systems.
In the case of the cloud LMS example, a process that was going to require a manual workaround could be automated and integrated as a seamless extension of your HR team. PaaS helps users address the biggest complaint of SaaS systems – the fact they can be configured but not customized – by providing the flexibility to create business processes tailored to unique training needs.
When you work with PaaS, you load your employees into a database, and you can run proprietary training on top to create a do-it-yourself SaaS product so you can create your custom training too. PaaS has made development time shorter, as its eLearning tools often have built-in learning activities and connectors that allow you to easily add functionality, such as gamification or micro-learning.
One of PaaS’ most important features is that its use doesn’t conflict with regular software upgrades delivered by SaaS vendors for LMSs. PaaS extensions don’t prevent you from upgrading, which was a bigger issue with the on-premise software. You could modify the core baseline code with the on-premise software, but that would often prevent you from taking updates because it would impact your customization.
Building Training PaaS Awareness
Training PaaS remains a little-used tool in HR for the cannabis industry, a fact many experts expect to change as awareness of the capabilities of the technology continues to grow. Only a few organizations are leveraging PaaS infrastructure training technology in conjunction with their HR systems with a very low percentage evaluating the technology.
Of those using PaaS today, more than 50 percent are engaging third-party vendors for their current development work and PaaS remains underutilized in human resource system strategies. PaaS is an untapped resource that many HR functions either aren’t aware of or haven’t yet taken advantage of. It allows you to capitalize on elements of your business or your unique HR processes and it gets HR back into a build-versus-buy mentality in the cloud environment.
For example, a company might have a cloud-based human resource management system that meets most of its needs, but it may not address HR’s unique approach to a process like employee training and development. A Training PaaS would allow the organization to build or extend functionality to customize its technology to that new training process.
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