Shift Your Technology Paradigm with SaaS
July 2009
Software as a Service (SaaS) is considered
a low-cost way for businesses to obtain rights to use select software as needed
versus licensing the software. Commonly referred to as “service on demand,”
SaaS enables the benefits of commercially licensed software use without the
complexity and initial cost of purchase, hosting and maintenance.
SaaS achieves efficiencies by
enabling on-demand software licensing and management of functionality,
information and output, independent of the hardware location. The software
vendor hosts the application on their web server and creates a private, secure
environment for the customer with remote access, or downloads the application
to the customer device, maintaining control over the use. In either case,
access is correlated to service dates and contract terms.
How can SaaS benefit you?
Controlling Costs
Typically, on-demand service alleviates
the customer's need to equip their server with every conceivable application as
the software is fully-equipped with its unique features. It also reduces traditional
software maintenance, ongoing operation patches and developmental upgrades,
thereby reducing or eliminating these variable costs. Thus, service on-demand
allows the software to become a fixed expense rather than an unexpected,
variable expense. SaaS enables you to focus spending on the amount of software
for the specified number of users.
Using SaaS can reduce the
up-front expense of software purchases through less costly, hosted service
pricing by providers. On-demand service may also reduce a customer’s investment
in server hardware or facilitate a shift in server use.
If licensing fees or server
limitations are keeping you from enhancing your business processes, SaaS may be
the low-cost, practical solution to introducing new software. Service on-demand
will open the door to new technology, simplify your operational efforts and
save you money.