What's an ATS - Applicant Tracking System? Has the platform killed it!

What’s an ATS – Applicant Tracking System?  and is it Dead

Has the recruitment software platform killed the ATS?

So first lets find out what is an ATS? What’s a recruitment software platform? and What’s the difference between them? Then we can work out if the recruiting software has killed the ATS star. 🙂

This discovery journey takes us back in time to ancient Greece… just kidding!  Not that complicated.  Just to around 2003 – the birth of the God “Browser-based Software”.

So let’s take a look at the evolution….

2003 – Browser-based Recruitment Software

So this only says browser based but it doesn’t mean it’s available on the net i.e. from anywhere!  The server may be hosted internally – meaning it would be running within your network only – as opposed to over the net!

2003 – Web-based Recruitment Software

OK, so this was a bit of evolution as access was not limited to just a browser i.e. It is ‘thin client’ which means you don’t have to install it before you can use it.  But also you can access from anywhere.

2005 – Cloud-based Recruitment Software

So here not only you can access from a browser, and from anywhere… but also you don’t have to create a separate database and separate server in some datacenter for each client.  This means that as a supplier who’s delivering their solution as a cloud-based solution, the chances are unless you’re lying about it… or in some cases you’re confused… your software build and delivery mechanism is very efficient and therefore the clients expect that the solution they buy (subscribe to) from you will remain a)  Updated with new features and; b)  Price competitive.

2007 – The birth of the Greek God “Recruitment Software Platform” – here comes the star who killed the ATS!

A software business application that’s delivered as a platform or in this case, a recruitment software platform is:

1. CLOUD – A cloud-based recruitment software.
2. Free-Plan as entry point – Must have a free-plan as the entry point where users can then go up the pricing model as they need to. This way companies can trial it for free without any pressure from sleazy salespeople and, or; extract limited value from it and pay as they need to extract more value.
3. Self-Service – Users should be able to experience the software on their own and this includes all the setup and customization options that the software offers to their relevant industry
4. Highly customizable – A platform has to offer enterprise-grade customization to clients with sophisticated knowledge of the technology in their field. Clients expect customizability as a feature and so it has to be there and available to them as self-service.
5. Open Architecture API(s) – A recruitment software platform has to have an open architecture made up of a set of API(s) as well as in some cases other potential types of software layers that are built on top of the API tier and that provide a higher degree of re-use integration build acceleration. For example, a WordPress Plugin like the My Recruitment Plus platform has a job-board WordPress Plugin that allows a company to build a custom-built career site with fully fledged job-board features in less than an hour.
6. Eliminate the barrier to entry for smaller companies  – modern freemium platforms don’t come with an upfront setup cost and so, everyone can now afford an enterprise-grade recruitment software not only the elite corporate with lots of money to spend.  You see this model breaks down the wall… it’s the barrier to entry wall I’m referring to, that used to prevent smaller companies with smaller budgets, from being able to afford the 50K+ upfront setup cost.

OK so now that we understand what I mean by a legitimate platform for a particular B2B application in a particular space… let’s talk about the ATS.

Well I’m afraid that’s a very outdated word – if I was you… if you are someone who’s researching a recruitment software, then I would run away from a supplier that’s really proud to call their product an ATS.  I mean this represents the past man – the future, on the other hand, is standing in the other corner, his name is a Recruitment Software Platform and he’s about to pounce on the good old ATS and you know… well, it’s not going to be pretty!!!!

I hope that you found this article funny and perhaps with a bit of luck… a tiny little bit useful or informative!

Until next time!