Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provides a suite of options with maintenance and technical support delivered over a network, usually the internet. Users rent generic applications and log in via an application service provider or software on demand. SaaS vendors are responsible for maintenance and updates, making it an attractive option for companies looking to minimize software and services needs, including telecommuters.
Software-as-a-Service is a complete suite of options that the consumer can order along with a software application. You get maintenance and technical support in addition to the application itself. The key element in this arrangement is the network.
One of the not-so-well-disguised requirements of Software-as-a-Service is that for the vendor to offer services such as maintenance and technical support, the services must be delivered over a network. It is completely impractical for a business to spend time and energy on what amounts to electronic house calls; rather, the business does what needs to be done on a network. In most cases, this network is the Internet.
Software-as-a-Service users log on to a network on a regular basis to use the software applications they have purchased. Therefore, these users are actually just renting out the use of the applications. Software applications purchased as part of Software-as-a-Service are also quite generic. Custom applications can and are designed specifically for users, but this also requires custom maintenance and technical support, something most vendors think twice before offering.
Users of applications that are part of the Software-as-a-Service packages typically log in to use those applications in one of two ways. The first way is to contract with an application service provider, which offers access to applications via the Web; each user accesses a web network to use the applications, and the company pays a monthly fee for the application users. In the second mode, called software on demand, a company buys a copy of an application that allows multiple users to connect simultaneously; users still go to the web to use the application, but they log in differently, and the company usually pays no fees, since the application has already been purchased.
One of the main benefits that a company gains by using Software-as-a-Service to solve its application needs is that the software vendor is responsible for the time and money spent on maintenance, technical support and updates. The Software-as-a-Service vendor may charge the consumer an upgrade fee, but the consumer does not have to go through the process of purchasing the upgrade and installing it themselves. Likewise, the consumer need not worry about viruses or other difficulties threatening the network. Since the company and its employees are doing nothing but connect to a network, they should have no liability claims if something goes wrong with that network.
Software-as-a-Service can be an attractive option for companies looking to minimize their software and services needs. Software-as-a-Service can also be an attractive option for employers who have telecommuters in their ranks. Since employees only need to connect to the internet to use the applications, they can work from anywhere as long as they have internet access.
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