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SaaS: meaning, examples and benefits
Software-as-a-Service and service-based models in general have gained considerable popularity and spread thanks to the cloud.
Today, millions of users worldwide use SaaS every day without probably being aware of it when they open e-mail and or work with most management and productivity software.
The idea of distributing services and applications on a large scale is something that dates back to the first networks between mainframe computers, in the 1960s, but it was not until the arrival and global spread of the Internet in the 1990s that the then application service providers (ASPs), albeit with all their limitations, began to chart the path of what would become SaaS.
Today, millions of users worldwide use SaaS every day without probably being aware of it when they open e-mail and or work with most management and productivity software.
The idea of distributing services and applications on a large scale is something that dates back to the first networks between mainframe computers, in the 1960s, but it was not until the arrival and global spread of the Internet in the 1990s that the then application service providers (ASPs), albeit with all their limitations, began to chart the path of what would become SaaS.
The multi-tenant architecture of Software-as-a-Service allowed for the revolutionization of application deployment, avoiding the need to install and manage applications locally, with the ability to centralize data control.
While preserving some of its basic principles, today’s SaaS has evolved significantly from the first attempts, which are now more than 20 years old, abandoning forever the silo structure in favor of distributed service platforms, which allow high visibility to all lines of business, facilitating synergies and strategic execution.
The spread of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, which require very large processing resources, has resulted in some services becoming available only in the cloud.
SaaS today therefore represents a reference solution for enterprise software in various areas of use, and the support of a qualified consultant with a proven track record in the field, such as Deda Cloud, can facilitate the choice of services to be adopted, their configuration and integration with existing systems.
While preserving some of its basic principles, today’s SaaS has evolved significantly from the first attempts, which are now more than 20 years old, abandoning forever the silo structure in favor of distributed service platforms, which allow high visibility to all lines of business, facilitating synergies and strategic execution.
The spread of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, which require very large processing resources, has resulted in some services becoming available only in the cloud.
SaaS today therefore represents a reference solution for enterprise software in various areas of use, and the support of a qualified consultant with a proven track record in the field, such as Deda Cloud, can facilitate the choice of services to be adopted, their configuration and integration with existing systems.
What does SaaS mean?
SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) is one of the main service models of cloud computing and is distinguished by the fact that applications are made available through Internet access (web browser and or API) without requiring any local installation, as is the case with traditional legacy software.
This model is based on a multi-tenant architecture, which allows multiple users to share instances of the application, executed by the cloud service provider (CSP) delivering the service.
The CSP is responsible for managing the software throughout its entire lifecycle, providing for its ongoing maintenance and deployment to make the most up-to-date version available to end users on time, in a completely transparent manner.
The most obvious transition point from traditional software to SaaS lies in the fact that companies no longer have to manage all aspects of operation internally, including updates on each individual machine, thus freeing up a number of significant IT resources compared to the traditional situation.
Charged to the client companies remains the fundamental node of controlling the accounts of users who are authorized to access SaaS, taking advantage of data and resources useful to their tasks.
This model is based on a multi-tenant architecture, which allows multiple users to share instances of the application, executed by the cloud service provider (CSP) delivering the service.
The CSP is responsible for managing the software throughout its entire lifecycle, providing for its ongoing maintenance and deployment to make the most up-to-date version available to end users on time, in a completely transparent manner.
The most obvious transition point from traditional software to SaaS lies in the fact that companies no longer have to manage all aspects of operation internally, including updates on each individual machine, thus freeing up a number of significant IT resources compared to the traditional situation.
Charged to the client companies remains the fundamental node of controlling the accounts of users who are authorized to access SaaS, taking advantage of data and resources useful to their tasks.
How does the Software as a Service model work?
Software-as-a-Service, in its definition, describes the functional assumptions of software delivered as a service.
In fact, the application is made accessible as a service via the Internet.
As anticipated, the provision, maintenance, and application remain the responsibility of the provider delivering the service, while client companies remain responsible for the data they share on systems not owned by them and for the permissions granted to the users they choose to have access to SaaS.
Since the infrastructure needed to run the application is centralized, users can log in remotely via any device with a Web browser, using the credentials they possess.
SaaS is generally cloud-native software developed on the basis of a microservices architecture.
Its modern design allows the lifecycle to be structured on the basis of a CI/CD (continuous integration/continuous delivery) model, which enables the continuous release of the most up-to-date versions of the various decoupled functional modules that make up the application, without having to recompile and redistribute it in its entirety, as is the case with monolithic software.
This approach saves considerable resources and reduces the useful time required to release updates.
In fact, the application is made accessible as a service via the Internet.
As anticipated, the provision, maintenance, and application remain the responsibility of the provider delivering the service, while client companies remain responsible for the data they share on systems not owned by them and for the permissions granted to the users they choose to have access to SaaS.
Since the infrastructure needed to run the application is centralized, users can log in remotely via any device with a Web browser, using the credentials they possess.
SaaS is generally cloud-native software developed on the basis of a microservices architecture.
Its modern design allows the lifecycle to be structured on the basis of a CI/CD (continuous integration/continuous delivery) model, which enables the continuous release of the most up-to-date versions of the various decoupled functional modules that make up the application, without having to recompile and redistribute it in its entirety, as is the case with monolithic software.
This approach saves considerable resources and reduces the useful time required to release updates.
Examples of SaaS platforms
Initially, Software as a Service was predominantly the cloud versions of legacy applications already known.
Later, the concept was extended to platforms, so currently SaaS has come to involve a huge variety of software: CRM, ERP, CMS, HR, productivity, e-commerce, document management, storage management, database management, e-mail, electronic invoicing, and many others.
To cite a few examples, two popular SaaS productivity suites are Microsoft 365, formerly known as Office 365, a cloud version of the historic collection that includes Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc., and Google Suite, a cloud-native platform consisting of Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, among others, seamlessly integrated with Gmail, Google Drive and much of the Big G ecosystem. Other well-known and popular SaaS applications include Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Slack (collaboration and project management); Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce (e-commerce) Salesforce, Zendesk, HubSpot (CRM), DocuSign (electronic signature), NetSuite (finance) Dropbox, Sharepoint, WeTransfer (storage).
Later, the concept was extended to platforms, so currently SaaS has come to involve a huge variety of software: CRM, ERP, CMS, HR, productivity, e-commerce, document management, storage management, database management, e-mail, electronic invoicing, and many others.
To cite a few examples, two popular SaaS productivity suites are Microsoft 365, formerly known as Office 365, a cloud version of the historic collection that includes Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc., and Google Suite, a cloud-native platform consisting of Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, among others, seamlessly integrated with Gmail, Google Drive and much of the Big G ecosystem. Other well-known and popular SaaS applications include Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Slack (collaboration and project management); Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce (e-commerce) Salesforce, Zendesk, HubSpot (CRM), DocuSign (electronic signature), NetSuite (finance) Dropbox, Sharepoint, WeTransfer (storage).
What are other “as a Service” options?
SaaS constitutes the most popular cloud services model along with PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service), which provides complete development and deployment environments for modern application development, and IaaS (infrastructure as a service), which makes IT infrastructure such as physical servers and virtual machines available on-demand, fully or partially exempting companies from owning a proprietary data center.
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From these three models, all major IT services have been progressively made available on-demand, to the point that there are now several dozen of them, with a wide range of commercial options on the catalog of various cloud service providers.
Among the most popular we can mention Storage-as-a-Service (StaaS), Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS), Function-as-a-Service and Desktop-as-a-Service.
Benefits
Many of the benefits of SaaS have emerged explicitly from the description of its features.
Wanting to provide a summary of the main useful benefits:
Wanting to provide a summary of the main useful benefits:
- Rapid availability: services available in minutes rather than hours or days (license purchases, installations, etc.).
- No local maintenance and upgrading: as these burdens fall on the provider who delivers the service.
- Flexible accounting: activating new users often takes the time of a click on a unified control panel, without having to purchase new licenses or take paths that could slow down the onboarding of new people entering the company beyond measure.
- Hybrid work: the software is accessible “anytime, anywhere,” at any time.
- Security: robustness of the infrastructure guaranteed by cloud providers capable of investments that are now beyond the reach of most companies.
- Innovation: providers often introduce new features, which client companies find available without having to make additional effort and investment in R&D.
Critical issues
For the avoidance of doubt, it is worth pointing out how the advantages of SaaS, for most applications, far outweigh the possible disadvantages in adoption.
For this reason, it is probably more appropriate to refer to those critical issues that may arise from improper implementation or limited knowledge of certain aspects related to cloud computing.
For this reason, it is probably more appropriate to refer to those critical issues that may arise from improper implementation or limited knowledge of certain aspects related to cloud computing.
- Data on third-party resources: the company always remains responsible for the processing of its own data, so in the case of SaaS a feeling of co-responsibility is triggered between client and provider, where the former is responsible for the transfer and the latter for IT security.
In some cases, regulations and private agreements deny the possibility of being able to store data on third-party resources.
In that case, it is appropriate to proceed with hybrid IT infrastructures. - Potential lock-in and termination of services: if a SaaS closes, availability stops immediately, and the situation related to possible unilateral changes in contracts, in relation to the economic terms or conditions of services, could be equally problematic.
This condition also applies to possible temporary problems, such as breakdowns or unscheduled maintenance, if they result in a failure to provide service. - Indispensable Internet connection: to overcome this problem, many SaaS have an offline mode that allows data to be temporarily saved locally and synchronized as soon as a connection is detected.
In any case, dependence on the Internet remains extremely high.
To easily overcome these and other critical possibilities, you can rely on consultants with proven experience in the field such as Deda Cloud.
