What is SaaS? Everything you need to know about Software ...

Software as a Service, also know as SaaS, is a cloud-based service where instead of downloading software your desktop PC or business network ... 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SoftwareasaService,alsoknowasSaaS,isacloud-basedservicewhereinsteadofdownloadingsoftwareyourdesktopPCorbusinessnetworktorunandupdate,youinsteadaccessanapplicationviaaninternetbrowser.Thesoftwareapplicationcouldbeanythingfromofficesoftwaretounifiedcommunicationsamongawiderangeofotherbusinessappsthatareavailable. Thisoffersavarietyofadvantagesanddisadvantages.KeyadvantagesofSaaSincludesaccessibility,compatibility,andoperationalmanagement.Additionally,SaaSmodelsofferlowerupfrontcoststhantraditionalsoftwaredownloadandinstallation,makingthemmoreavailabletoawiderrangeofbusinesses,makingiteasierforsmallercompaniestodisruptexistingmarketswhileempoweringsuppliers.ThemajordisadvantageofSaaSapplicationsisthattheyordinarilyrequireaninternetconnectiontofunction.However,theincreasingwideavailabilityofbroadbanddealsandhigh-speedphonenetworkssuchas5Gmakesthislessofanissue.Additionally,someSaaSapplicationshaveanofflinemodethatallowsbasicfunctionality.Herewe'lllookmorecloselyatsomeofthekeyadvantagesanddisadvantagesofSaaSapplications,andinotherfeatureshelpexplaintherelatedInfrastructureasaService(IaaS),andPlatformasaService(PaaS). AdvantagesofSaaSAccessibility:OnestrongadvantageofanySaaSapplicationistheabilitytorunthroughaninternetbrowser,soitdoesn'tmatterwhichOperatingSystemisusedtoaccessit.SoregardlessastowhethertheuseristryingtoruntheapplicationonWindows,Mac,orLinuxmachines(orevensmartphonesrunningAndroidoriOS),theapplicationstillremainsaccessible.ThismakesSaaSapplicationsincredibleversatileinacoupleofdifferentways.Forone,itmeansyoudon'tneedtoworryifyouroperatingsystemorothersoftwarewillbecompatiblewithSaaSapplications.Perhapsmoreimportantly,notonlycantheybeusedintheofficeondesktopcomputers,theycanalsobeusedonmobiledevicessuchastablets.SaaSapplicationsareoverwhelminglydesignedtobemobile-friendlysothattheycanbeusedinawholerangeofsituationsandcircumstances,notleastonthego.Updatesandpatches:AnotherkeyadvantageofSaaSapplicationsisthatbecausetheyruninthecloud,thevendorcanupdatetheirsoftwarecentrallywithoutadverselyaffectingbusinessoperationsforusers.Thisisinstarkcontrasttoon-premisesoftwarethatwilloftenrequireadegreeofcompatibilityandendpointsecuritytestingbeforeevenroutineupdatesandpatchescanbeapplied.TheSaaSmodelthereforeavoidthepitfallsoftestingthatslowsdownthedevelopmentcycleandaccesstonewfeaturesforusers,whileensuringthatsecurityupdatesareappliedassoonaspossibleincontrasttoon-premisessoftwarethatmayremainvulnerabletoattackuntiltheITservicemanagementstaffhavefinishedtheirtesting.Hardware:ThisleadsintooneoftheotherbiggestsellingpointsaboutSaaS,andthat'sthelackofinitialinvestmentrequiredtouseit.Foron-premisessoftware,sometimesit'snotsimplythatbusinessPCsorotherdesktopshavecompatiblesoftwareandhardwareconfigurations,butalsothatadditionalserversandnetworkswitchesthatcouldberequiredaspartofageneralinvestmentinITinfrastructureservicesnecessarytosupportthesoftwareacrossthebusiness. SaaSsweepsthatneedaway,meaningthateventhesmallestbusinesscannowhaveaccesstosoftwaretoolsthroughSaaS-basedcloudapplicationsthatoriginallyonlyenterprisescouldaffordtobuildfor.Additionally,SaaSisscaleableinthatifyouneedtoaddmoreuserstoyourservice,orconverselyreducethem,yousimplyadjustyourbillingplanaccordingly-asopposedtohavingtobuyinmorehardwarewhenexpanding,orelsehavingtoshelveexpensiveelectronicswhenreducedneedmakesitredundant.Marketreach:Forvendorsthismeansbeingabletosupplyasoftwareservicetothemajorityofthemarket,insteadofjustalimitedandtargetedmarketsegment.Thismeansthatpricingcanbecheaperandmoreaccessibletobusinessesofeverysize.Forusersthismeansbeingabletoaccessservicesnotnormallyavailable,thusbothexpandingandimprovingbusinessservices,productivityandgeneralopportunities.Savingandstorage:Onpremisestorageofdatameanstheneedtoinvestinreliablebackupssuchasthroughcloudstorageorotherdisasterrecoveryplantomitigateanyserioushardwarecrashthatmightotherwisecausethesignificantlossofdata.However,withSaaS,dataisroutinelysavedinthecloudanyway.Whatmakesthisdoubleadvantageousisnotjusttheredundancyaspect,butalsothatemployeescanswitchbetweendeviceswithoutlosingworkordata,simplybythefactofloggingintothesingleaccount,regardlessofwhichdeviceisbeingused.Dataandanalytics:Becauseeverythingisrunthroughacentralizedplatformthismeansitseasytocapturedataandprovideitforanalyticsuse.BusinessesusingSaaSsoftwareusuallyhaveaccesstoreportingandintelligencetoolsandvisualizationsthatcanprovidevaluableinsightsintobusinessoperations,allowingforworkflowstobestreamlinedandefficiencysavingstobeactioned.Forthevendor,becauseaccessdependsonapaidsubscriptionthere'snoneedtobeconcernedaboutpiracywhichmightotherwisecostthesupplieranddamagebothaccessandpricingmodels.OverallSaaSOverall,SaaSoffersalotofbenefitsallroundthatshouldworkintheinterestsofbothsuppliersandusers.Whilesomeenterprisesmightprefertosetuptheirowncloudmanagementservicesanduseorchestrationbetweendevicesandsitestocontroltheirowndata,forthemajorityofsmallbusinessesatleastSaaSoffersunrivaledopportunitiesthatcanhelpthemdevelop,expand,andprovidemorevaluetobothstaffandcustomers.SaaS,PaaSandIaaS:whichcloudservicemodelisforyou? BrianTurner Brianhasover30yearspublishingexperienceasawriterandeditoracrossarangeofcomputing,technology,andmarketingtitles.HehasbeeninterviewedmultipletimesfortheBBCandbeenaspeakeratinternationalconferences.HisspecialtyontechradarisSoftwareasaService(SaaS)applications,coveringeverythingfromofficesuitestoITservicetools.Heisalsoasciencefictionandfantasyauthor,publishedasBrianGTurner. SeemoreCloudservicesnews Areyouapro?Subscribetoournewsletter SignuptotheTechRadarPronewslettertogetallthetopnews,opinion,featuresandguidanceyourbusinessneedstosucceed! ContactmewithnewsandoffersfromotherFuturebrands Receiveemailfromusonbehalfofourtrustedpartnersorsponsors ThankyouforsigninguptoTechRadar.Youwillreceiveaverificationemailshortly. Therewasaproblem.Pleaserefreshthepageandtryagain. 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