Software as a Service (SaaS)

1. Evolution of Saas

1.1. In-house or off-the-shelf software

1.1.1. ready-made and available for sale, lease, or license to the general public

1.1.2. development of an information system internally within an organization

1.2. Application Service Provider (ASP)

1.2.1. applications are hosted by third parties

1.2.2. takes off-the-shelf software and runs it for customers

1.3. SaaS

1.3.1. started to flow in the IT industry during 2000-2001 as a business solution for many firms

1.3.2. practical and useful when it comes to adding new functionality

2. Impacts of Saas in the Industry

2.1. Advantages

2.1.1. Save money and time

2.1.2. Focus technology budgets on competitive advantage rather than infrastructure

2.1.3. Gain immediate access to the latest innovations

2.1.4. Join a community of interest

2.2. Disdvantages

2.2.1. the code is not customizable for any individual customer

2.2.2. the need to provide constant client visibility and improvement of the software value over time

2.2.3. service interruption or downtime

3. Opportunities and Concerns

3.1. SaaS will make up 30% of the software market by 2007 and will be worth $10.7 billion by 2009

3.2. measures must be taken to ensure the security, reliability, and availability of data

3.3. provision of Service Level Agreement (SLA) guarantees, allowing customers to pay for exactly what they need

4. Definition

4.1. software application distribution model

4.2. hosted by a vendor or service provider

4.3. available through a network or over the Internet

5. Role of SaaS

5.1. provide solutions for small to medium businesses (SMB)

5.2. provides enterprise-class product at a low cost and with less complexity

5.3. increases productivity, reduces IT costs, and upgrades software applications

6. SaaS Application Characteristics

6.1. network-based access

6.2. priced on a per-user basis

6.3. application delivery that has multi-tenant architecture

6.4. activities are managed from central locations enabling customers to access applications remotely via the Web