What is SaaS?

Put your software up in the cloud

Software as a Service, usually abbreviated to SaaS, is a distribution model for software, whereby instead of downloading the software to run locally on your PC, the program is hosted by a third-party provider, and then accessed by users over the internet, typically through a web browser interface.

SaaS is a type of cloud computing, with the other related cloud computing categories being Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS). Many folks use SaaS on a daily basis, although they may not be familiar with the term. SaaS is usually sold via a license/subscription model.

Advantages of SaaS

SaaS has enjoyed a good deal of popularity, as it has many inherent advantages. These include:

Updates: With the software housed on the server, it can be upgraded centrally, as opposed to the traditional model where the software would need to be upgraded on each machine. In other words, SaaS can easily be maintained with the latest version of the software at all times.
Hardware: With the software run on a server, individual PCs do not need to be upgraded for hardware requirements, and there are no issues with not meeting minimum specs.
Costs: With a subscription model, the (upfront) acquisition costs are lowered for businesses. In addition, users can be added as needed on a monthly basis so the business can expand as required.
Quick deployment: As software does not need to be installed and configured on individual machines, with SaaS it can be much more rapidly deployed.
Accessibility: Gaining access to a SaaS app just requires a browser and an internet connection, allowing users to be able to login in from anywhere. Also, the user’s data is stored in the cloud, and not tied to an individual user’s PC facilitating collaboration with other users.

Disadvantages of SaaS

Despite the inherent advantages of SaaS, there are disadvantages as well. Among them are:

Data security: For sensitive data, such as with the healthcare or legal sectors, sensitive information ends up outside of the company’s server, raising issues of access management, privacy and security.
Less choice: Generally speaking, there are more software choices in the traditional model than in the SaaS model. While this is changing over time, there are still less players in the SaaS segment.
Version issues: While generally it is a plus for SaaS to ensure that all users are on the latest version of their software, there are times for various reasons – such as education of users, integration with other hardware or software, or certain mission critical features specific to only one particular version – where the company may have preferred to stay on an older version of the software. However, this is not possible with SaaS, which constantly upgrades all users to the latest version.
Requires internet: To use a SaaS application the user must be connected to the internet. However, for those times when users are disconnected, such as when traveling on an airplane (although more offer in-flight Wi-Fi these days), or if the internet goes down at the business premises, the SaaS will be unavailable too.
Slower: Depending on your internet connection speed, and the other resources required, a SaaS offering may perform at a slower speed than if the software ran locally.
Lack of integration: With a SaaS, there is less ability to integrate the software with other programs compared to traditional software.

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