SaaS Development

The findings of a survey by document management software company, Version One, has revealed that 41% of senior IT professionals admit that they “don’t know” what cloud computing is. Version One carried out the research with 60 senior IT professionals (IT directors and managers) across a range of UK public and private sector organisations. This research follows-on from a similar survey carried-out by Version One which highlights that two-thirds of UK senior finance professionals (finance directors and managers) are confused about cloud computing.

Of the remaining 59% of IT professionals who profess to know what cloud computing is, 17% of these understand cloud computing to be internet-based computing while 11% believe it is a combination of internet-based computing, software as a service (SAAS), software on demand, an outsourced or managed service and a hosted software service. The remaining respondents understand cloud computing to be a mixture of the above.

Despite cloud computing being in the media spotlight, only a minority of respondents (5%) say that they use it “a lot” and less than a quarter of those surveyed (19%) reveal that they only use cloud computing sparingly. Almost half of respondents (47%) admit that their company doesn’t use cloud computing with the remaining 29% conceding that they “don’t know” whether their organisation uses it or not.

Julian Buck, General Manager of Version One (www.versionone.co.uk), says, “Although this is only a small survey of IT professionals, the results are nonetheless very alarming, especially as IT professionals are the very people that need to understand cloud computing so that they can explain its benefits to management.”

Buck continues, “It is clear from the survey results that there are a number of contrasting views as to what cloud computing really is, which is hardly surprising in light of the many different cloud computing definitions in the public arena. For instance, Wikipedia defines it as ‘Internet-based computing’ while Gartner refers to it ‘as a service’ using Internet technologies. IT expert, John Willis, writing in his cloud blog says that ‘virtualisation is the secret sauce of a cloud’ and provides different levels of cloud computing. With so many definitions circulating, clarity is urgently needed.”

Only 2% of respondents say that their company is “definitely” going to invest in cloud computing within the next twelve months whilst 30% state that their organisations “may” invest in this technology. 45% admit that they “don’t know” whether their organisations will be investing in it or not with the remaining 23% stating that they currently have no investment plans. For those who definitely or maybe have plans to invest in cloud computing, some of the key business drivers cited include reduction in overheads and paper, ease of use, cost savings and the ability to provide collaborative tools for teaching and learning.

Buck adds, “If organisations are going to embrace cloud computing in the future it’s essential that a single, simplified explanation is adopted by everyone. Failure to cut through the confusion could result in organisations rejecting this technology and missing out on the benefits it provides.”

Are you in business? Perhaps you are thinking of putting up your own? Either way, you have one very important concern: money.

No matter what type of business you are going to create—whether it is going to be brick and mortar or an online one—you need some form of capital. You need the money to buy the materials that you need to start off properly.

This is where SaaS comes in. Also referred to as software as a service, this is a kind of software deployment model where application vendors would make their programs available on demand to their clients. Simply put, rather than purchasing the very expensive software, all the clients need to do is to rent them.

Top Reasons of Using SaaS in Business

If you are dilly-dallying with the idea of using Saas for your business or not, perhaps the following reasons will make the decision so much easier:

1. You do not need to spend thousands of dollars for your programs. Instead of spending as much as 5,000 dollars for a single software that could be installed in only one computer, you will only have to pay for the monthly subscription for your SaaS. The cost may even just be around a couple of hundreds or even less. You also have the choice of whether to pay monthly, quarterly, or yearly.

2. You can change your software provider more conveniently. One of the foremost reasons why it becomes very hard for businesspersons to change applications immediately, especially if the ones they got are not the best ones for their enterprise, is because they have not really maximized their investments to such programs. When you are working with a software provider, on the other hand, you only have to use their applications on demand. When you are done with it, and you believe that there are better providers out there, you can opt not to renew your subscription.

3. There is no need for you to pay for upgrades. When you have stand-alone programs, it will be your responsibility to ensure that they are always properly maintained. Though some of them will give you free upgrades, most of them do not. This means that you can expect to pay hundreds of dollars every year for the renewal of your license or upgrade. You will not have to worry about this when you have a SaaS provider. Since they technically own the program, they will have to take care of the maintenance themselves.

4. You would not have to pay more for labor. Besides infrastructure and technology, you also have to allocate funds for your employees’ salary. Logically, the more people you have in your company, the more money you have to set aside for payroll. The SaaS model will prevent you from spending too much. You do not have to look for an IT professional and then pay for his or her salary and even for his training. When you need help in running the software, you can simply contact the technical support of the company. You can reach them via e-mail, telephone, and live chat.

5. All your data is kept safe and secure. Perhaps you are worried about your data. How safe are they when you know that you are technically not the owner of the applications? The answer is they are completely secure.

Part of the subscription plan is data backup and recovery. All your information are stored in different servers and in real time. This means that every time you save on something, another copy of it is already created somewhere else. Moreover, you are still given full control on what you do with the information that you inputted. What SaaS vendors would just do is put restrictions on administration of the software.   

SaaS are indeed helpful for those who are managing their own business, from small- to large-scale enterprises. You get access to programs that are very powerful, and yet there is no need or rush for you to spend a lot for them.

I recently received a report which included some interesting market data about about how the economy has impacted SaaS.  

At the end of 2008, a survey was conducted in order to gauge the impact of the economic crisis on buyers’ attitudes toward SaaS. In the aftermath of the financial meltdown, the survey data provided clear evidence that demand for cloud-based solutions continues to remain strong. Two survey questions in particular address how organizations consider SaaS in relation to key business goals and expected business value from those SaaS solutions. 

• In terms of business goals: “Sales/Revenue Growth” and “Reach New Customers” are the top two business goals across industry groups with “Increase Profit Margins”, “Managing Budgets” and “Decrease Operational Expenses” close behind in the top five. The biggest relative change came at the bottom of the list, with dramatic lowering of priorities as it concerns “Entering New Markets” and “Change the Organization’s Business Model.”  
• In terms of expected benefits: “Capital and Operating Cost Reduction” is the leading business benefit expected from SaaS as a whole, followed closely by “Simplify Software Management” and “Improve Service Levels.” The lowest-ranked expected benefits are “Access Next-generation Application Functionality” and “Leverage SaaS Provider’s Leading-edge Technology.”  

Is there a direct linkage between expected benefits from these solutions and the business goals that drive enterprises? The need for top-line growth drives the top two business goals across most industry groups with costs and profitability close behind. Yet, among expected SaaS benefits, increasing revenue falls well back into the lower half of favored responses.  

For more information please click on:  

http://www.researchandmarkets.com/product/720280/saas_in_the_postcrash_era_industry_data_ind  

Software as a Service, or SaaS, is quite simply an application that is run online.  It may have begun online, or was taken online.  Basically, SaaS enables a computer user to access an application without having to download and install it on his or her machine.

Los Angeles has been at the forefront of SaaS progress.  Los Angeles is in a prime position to capitalize on all great developments regarding SaaS.  For one, it has the required information technology infrastructure needed for operating a SaaS business.  It has a steady supply of information technology graduates who look for jobs within the area’s SaaS business that’s currently numbering in the hundreds.  It is no fluke that the world’s top grossing SaaS companies are either headquartered in and around Los Angeles: Oracle, Digital Insight, and the Trizetto Group.  Los Angeles is also home to a lot of successful SaaS startups. As a matter of fact, the 2008 list of fastest growing companies in Los Angeles had more than its share of SaaS companies.

The business environment in Los Angeles has also been more conducive to SaaS companies, with a number of venture capitalist firms in the area that guarantees initial funding to most startups, and continuing capital to a lot of existing information technology firms in the area.  The only question remaining is if the demand would match the potential.

The answer is a big and loud YES.

It is widely believed that the market for Software as a Service application matured in 2008, with more and more applications hitting the mainstream market. This was also the time when more and more enterprises and businesses were looking into a transfer to the SaaS platform.  Estimates have put the annual market for SaaS applications worldwide to be at $6.4 billion and that is set to double in just four years.  Recent studies have also shown that the migration—at least among larger companies—started at this high time.  Kelton Research reported in June 2008 that around 75% of executives from big companies said that their companies have already adopted SaaS applications or plans to adopt SaaS applications in the near future.

On a national scale, SaaS has been given a boost by the rise of collaborative technologies and interoperability.  The driving force behind both is the Internet, making SaaS a natural offshoot.  SaaS has also seen a rise in the number of adopting companies, propelled in part by the participation of big names in offline and online computing—Google, IBM, Microsoft, etc.—have offered SaaS services and platforms.

Additionally, most enterprises and businesses nowadays will find SaaS more attractive.  With the economy in a very dismal state, most companies will be balking at the upfront cost of buying, developing or maintaining software.  SaaS is a very prominent fixture in cloud computing where it is the vendor who shoulders the cost of developing and deploying any infrastructure—software, programs, servers, etc.—instead of the end user.  Further, the cost is not the only main reason why SaaS should be very popular in an economic recession, but also implementation and support issues.  Availing of software as a service platform can ensure that the end user will have only experts and professionals, who know the infrastructure inside-out (sometimes, even the same ones who developed it), do the implementation, deployment, customization, maintenance, even repair and troubleshooting of the same.  This not only takes away the headache of running the system, but also saves the end user in a myriad of costs, like hiring an expensive programmer, systems administrator, or other professionals to run the systems.  Many people have likened cloud computing and SaaS to the electricity you receive from your local electric company wherein you enjoy the benefits of having electricity without knowing how power turbines, hydroelectric generators, windmills work to produce electricity nor anything about how electricity is supplied and distributed.  All you need to know is how to pay for it, and the electric company will take care of everything.

All these are highlighted by the recent win of Barack Obama, who has vowed to limit offshore outsourcing to create jobs and bring jobs back home.  The limit would make SaaS even more attractive because it functions in a manner that is very like outsourcing.

It may take a while before SaaS applications overtake PCs and rob it of its status as the center of the computing universe, but indicators are pointing to that direction.  If not a full implementation of SaaS, companies are bound to look into this service to cut their costs and increase their efficiency.  With this uptake, Los Angeles is bound to become known as the SaaS capital of the country, if not the world.

As the cost of hosting hardware and connectivity goes down and web-based services such as Google Docs, Zoho, or Picnick became more available, the idea of using the Web as an alternative to desktop productivity became more popular. These developments in the past couple of years have made doing everything online and storing nearly everything online made web-based services more popular, such that when SaaS first came into view, it became relatively easy to sell it both as an idea and as a practice that is necessity to business operations.

Still, much of businesses that have sizable IT departments prefer to do it “old skul” and create things in-house and going so far as hiring consultants to develop applications both on-shore and offshore. What gives?

Read the full article here

Innovation in software is a key driver toward the onset of modern technology. In the same manner, the upsurge of Web-based services and technologies are a pivotal factor. As such, Software as a service or SaaS has effected a change in software technology for companies and organizations of varied sizes. SaaS has opened up opportunities for otherwise traditional business solutions. 

SaaS has made both small-scale trade organizations and large corporations recognize that there are other options to approach the software and technology aspect of their businesses.  As it gains the nod of most mainstream opinions, SaaS is taking an upsurge.  Software analyst Jeff Kaplan has pointed out how SaaS is widely accepted by most users and getting good reviews from the likes of famed Information Technology business guru Nicholas Carr to software application peers at the Wall Street.

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The deployment of Software as a Service or SaaS should be guided with business requirements, timelines and objectives that are clearly defined. Understanding these for a successful outcome is key.
Besides the formation of an able delivery team, defining and understanding the infrastructure that is needed for the delivery of SaaS application is a significant part of successful deployment. Specifically, this pertains to the procurement of the infrastructure needed and the software required. Infrastructure enables a business to deploy Internet-based applications and SaaS more quickly, more securely, of better quality while being cost-effective, regardless of the application lifecycle or stage. Continue Reading »

Software as a Service or “SaaS” a revolutionary software “software-on-demand” model that operates through user subscription simply shifts away from the conventional way of delivering software. As most clients attest, the SaaS model is less burdensome with regards to the deployment or implementation of the software and its related management, as opposed to the customary model.

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