Software systems in the past traditionally require a set of minimum IT infrastructure and substantial resources for setting up.  The onset of broadband and web-enabled services have allowed business systems and consumer services to be offered entirely online, giving users the option of subscription-based services accessed and stored in the Internet ‘cloud’. Users effectively ‘lease’ the SaaS service, as compared to an outright purchase with contractual maintenance agreements.

 

SaaS systems offers a number of distinct advantages for businesses:

Transparent and Lower costs

Often based on a low license subscription fee structure, SaaS systems reduce total cost of ownership and the maintenance costs of IT infrastructure associated with traditional software deployment, which should mean a better ROI.

The openness of SaaS systems paved the way for highly specialised services that rely on connectivity with other systems to achieve an integrated workflow environment. Businesses and consumers now enjoy immense choices for SaaS services, each with unique strengths, feature set and ability to integrate data with other services.

Major players like Salesforce.com and Google Apps have propelled SaaS computing into the limelight, with its appeal not limited to price-senstive SME segments but is also a viable solution for enterprise applications. In addition to its cost advantage, its scalability is proving to be a winning factor for globalised business operations.