SaaS Development

The personal computer and the Internet have been the two driving forces in today’s businesses. The personal computer has made a lot of tasks easier and has streamlined a lot of operations within an organization while the Internet totally changed the business model of a lot of companies, because it was able to reach an audience far from what traditional media could ever hope for.

Now, the Internet and personal computers are changing the landscape again by changing how software is deployed to businesses and users.

The current trend is slowly moving toward Software as a Service or SaaS. Many companies are warming up to the idea of getting the same level of results but with lesser costs.

Software Delivery in the Past
Home users and businesses have similarities when they need a particular application.

Individuals would order the software online and have it shipped right at their door. They also have the option of buying the software at a retail store. The product came in a box complete with the installer and perhaps a manual.

Installation would take less than an hour as the computer met the minimum requirements. Licensing rules mean they can only install it on a single machine at a time. Businesses follow the same route except that they are only handed a couple of discs to install the program into their PCs.

Volume licensing agreements meant they can install the software on a given number of machines; if they have to install on more PCs, they would have pay additional licensing fees.

Better bandwidth made it easier for software to be delivered online than on retail discs. After payment of necessary fees, businesses and home users alike will simply wait for the installer to finish downloading, and installation will follow immediately. Updates and patches are applied online as well, but the software still needs a space on your hard drive. However, further developments meant it is now possible to run entire applications online, giving birth to SaaS.

Advantages to Business
The maturity of several web platforms such as PHP, Java, and Ajax made it easier for software developers to deploy software in a new way: through the web browser. Users will simply have to be connected to the Internet and point their browsers to specific URL in order to run their needed applications. The actual program is kept on a central location, which means it shall be easier for developers to manage the software.

No Installation
For businesses, it meant that there is no need to install software anymore. All they need is a computer with a working operating system and a web browser that is either built-in or is downloadable for free.

No More Patches
This was a common headache for users as they struggle to keep application up to date and secure by means of regular patches. This time around, the upgrades and patches are applied the next time they use the application.

Fewer IT Staff
As a direct consequence to centralized access, businesses do not need to have a dedicated team of IT personnel since deployment and maintenance of the software is done online. This is one way that businesses can keep the costs down.

Remote Access
It is now possible to use the same applications while on the road as long as they have a working Internet connection. It does not matter if you are using a different computer as long as you are a registered user of the program.

Flexible Fees
Most SaaS implementations used the subscription model, which is more cost effective than purchasing software licenses for a certain number of PCs. Support services are also covered in the subscription fees. Furthermore, if the application or the developer does not meet your needs anymore, you can stop the service and find another company.

Fast Deployment
The reason why you can easily switch to another service is the fact that no installation is needed. Minor changes can be made to the application to adapt to the requirements of your businesses, but its migration to a different application becomes easier.

The popularity of Software as a Service is becoming stronger every day that even software giants are testing out the model to regular individuals. It will not be a surprise if in the next few years you will be writing documents or handling spreadsheets online rather than opening a program from your computer.

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.

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.

Continue Reading »

Traditionally, software providers have delivered software solutions through installing them on client computers and networks. In the recent times, however, clients have been requesting for Software as a Service for the more reasonable cost it offers and the lesser complex process involved in internally running the system. Continue Reading »

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 »

Service as a Software, the popularized Web-based software delivery model, has become a household word in the Information Technology and software world. Customers and vendor markets have attested that SaaS’ benefits outweigh its downsides, creating for SaaS a skyrocketing hype. Continue Reading »

SaaS vs ASP

Over time, vendors and customers have expressed the challenge brought about by the escalating costs of software. Similarly, the increased intricacies that come with software application have translated to hefty costs of software distribution to end-user customers.

Through Application Service Providers or ASPs, the complexities and costs involving the acquisition and implementation of software can possibly be trimmed down. Additionally, ASPs have addressed software issues relating to the software upgrades. The upgrading responsibilities that are otherwise on the end-user have been turned over to ASPs. This is because ASPs offer software services such as maintenance, updating services, 24-hour technical support as well as electronic and physical security. ASPs also support continuity and flexibility of business with respect to software implementation.

Continue Reading »

Software as a Service or “SaaS” is an innovative software model that revolutionized the way in which software applications are consumed are delivered. Specifically, SaaS, also called “software on demand”, is accessed through a subscription. It operates through a web browser.

 SaaS does away with conventional software application models, which, among other things, essentially attaches a customer to valid licensing. SaaS, or the Phase Two Model, is different from the traditional model because it takes the responsibility off a customer with respect to the implementation and management of the software.

Continue Reading »