What is Software as a Service (SaaS)

Explore about SaaS Application Model in Cloud Computing & its Advantages

SaaS Model : Two Types of Software as a Service (SaaS)

In SaaS model, as the name itself describes, provides services to its user over the Internet. This allows the users to overcome hectic procedures like maintenence & installation of additional software. Usually the traditional software are provided on single license & later on updates are provided. But in SaaS Model , further maintenence is included under the subscription of users, depending on the subscription plan of each SaaS based application..

• Vertical SaaS : This type of SaaS model is generally specifies the need to particular industry ( like agriculture, real estate, finance, healthcare etc)
• Horizontal SaaS : This type of SaaS model is generally specifies software arenas (like tool for developers, marketing, sales etc.)

Simple Examples to Understand SaaS

Example #1: If you are using a web-based email client like Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, etc., then, you are already using one form of SaaS. In this, you are logging into the account through internet by using web browser as an intermediate. This mailing application is placed on network of the service provider where your messages are stored. You can access this account anywhere whenever you want. The above para describes What is SaaS for personal use but, in organizations more services are needed. Don’t worry! Software as a Service (SaaS) do provide this facility too in which productive and sophisticated applications like enterprise resource planning, document management, and customer relationship management are involved. To avail these enterprise services, you have to pay for activating them in your web-based email program.

You can understand the concepts of SaaS cloud service more clearly by imaging about a bank. This bank protects privacy of each and every customer along with different services to be provided to them. Depending upon the massive scale, clients are provided with reliable and secure facilities. All customers of the bank uses a unique financial system and technology without taking tension about the fact that their personal information is accessed by someone else.

Example #2: You can understand the concepts of SaaS cloud service more clearly by imaging about a bank. This bank protects privacy of each and every customer along with different services to be provided to them. Depending upon the massive scale, clients are provided with reliable and secure facilities. All customers of the bank uses a unique financial system and technology without taking tension about the fact that their personal information is accessed by someone else.

What is Software as a Service and its Advantages

• Use the Sophisticated Programs : No hardware, external software, middle-ware is needed to work with business programs of SaaS. The service delivers applications that are very much useful for the organization growth, which is lacking because of buying, deploying, and managing resource in systematic infrastructure.
• Pay Only for Things You Are Using : SaaS cloud services never asks customers to pay the money for those applications, which they are not using. The service is having capability of automatically scaling up and down as per the usage level. One can customize applications for fitting them in business processes without any harm.
• Access Free Software of the Clients : It is possible to run majority of programs directly from the internet browser with no downloading and installation of software. Although, several special add-ons are already plugged in to benefit users with useful operations. This means that there is no need to install or purchase extra program for end users.
• Make Your Workforce Movable : Major advantage of using Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud service is that it is easy to mobilize the workforce. Only internet-connected PCs or mobiles are required to work with the SaaS applications and data. One need not to worry about running different computer types or devices because the service provider is already done with such things.
• Apps Get Updated Automatically : Instead of purchasing a new software, clients rely on the SaaS provider for automatically performing updates and the patch management. Furthermore, it helps in reducing burden of the in-house IT staff and enable them to focus more of development instead of other stuffs regarding maintenance.

Disadvantages of SaaS Cloud Services

Although there exists bulk of benefits with SaaS model but, there are few drawbacks needed to be consider when knowing about What is SaaS. They are illustrated below:

• Lack of Security : The major drawback of adopting the cloud platform is privacy of the confidential data and access management. However, as per the day-to-day survey, it is being observed that this aspect is decreasing with increase in cloud storage usage. Security technologies like tokenization and encryption makes data security possible on the cloud.
• Data Compliance : Certain set of industries and countries are having regulations, which are related to the cloud data storage. Enterprises need to ensure that they fulfill all those compliance agreements and implement SaaS according to them only.
• Lack of Control : Off-premises programs enable enterprises with high degree of the control than that of the hosted solutions where entire control is in hand of the third person. It is very rare that everyone is using latest edition of product and hence, slowing down the app performance.

Conclusion

Need to know What is SaaS ? Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud service is providing variety of technical advantages within it. This provides faster and anywhere access to the information, if the internet connection is available on the device. However, several organizations are developing with SaaS integration platform for their work. Users can use SaaS for their work and rely on it only in one condition that they take cloud data security as a very serious fact.