Why future SaaS applications will need offline capabilities

As we all know when you want to sell a software under the SaaS delivery model you are most of the time going to create a web application running inside a web browser.
However if you have to comply with SLAs asking for 99.9% uptime you will have to deal with problems with the internet connection of your users. Most ISP serving the general public will not guarantee a 100% uptime.
Furthermore in some case your users may not even have an internet connection, like when on plane (or on the beach for the lucky one's).
So how would you solve that problem? Offering offline capabilities you would say and you would be right. However implementing offline capabilities is not an easy task and that's why we don't yet see that feature in all SaaS offerings.

However, things are starting to get easier and there are now tools that allow developers to implement offline capabilities quicker and easier than before. Google started with "Google Gears", Microsoft is also pushing that way with its new slogan S+S (Software+Services) and Silverlight, not to mention Adobe that has just released its new Air framework.

Let's go thru those different options:

• Google gears is specifically targeted at enabling offline capabilities in web applications. It is relying on BerkeleyDb for storage and has proved to be fast and reliable. Obviously Google itself is the first to leverage it. Google Reader was the first application to use the Gears API but more recently they've added offline capabilities to their office suite allowing people to use google docs while offline. Other provider like Zoho are also using it successfully. It is also worth mentioning that Gears has a mobile version.
• The old way was to create a Smart Client application. If you use the .net framework, Microsoft provides libraries (e.g. Offline application block) to help you, however it tends to double up the work as you need to not only develop and maintain a web application but also a Smart Client. So if you really only need offline capabilities this might not be the best solution.
  
• Another option is to use Microsoft Silverlight. Silverlight 2.0 is not yet out of beta but should be released soon. Unlike Gears, Silverlight is not only allowing you to go offline but will allow you to build RIA easily. Silverlight has built in support for isolated storage but can also be integrated with Google Gears.
  
• Adobe Air is a framework to take web application (Ajax or Flex) to the desktop with minimum effort and since air applications have access to the disk it can also offer offline capabilities easily. Air is currently used by ebay for example and Adobe has recently partnered with Force.com to help developers create force.com applications with Flex. And if you don't want to use Air you can still use Flex for your RIA and connect it to Google Gears plugin for offline capabilities.
• Mozilla Prism is yet another intent to move web applications to the desktop. Just like the other solutions it will let the application access the disk and as such enables offline capabilities.
  
• Sun is also moving in the same direction with its JavaFX product.
  
• "Curl Nitro" recently released for beta testing, should allow curl developers to develop applications for the desktop. For some demos of RIA with Curl see here.

You will see in the news that most people are talking about "Desktop War" so eventually some of those products will disappear.
So how do you choose the right one for your SaaS application?
Beside taking into consideration your actual needs and the skills of your developers, you certainly don't want to use a tool that will no longer be supported in 1year or so.
The truth is that unlike with the "RIA War" very few users have the needed software installed on their computer and they will not mind installing what ever solution you choose to get offline capabilities so theoretically you could pick any. However personally, i would bet on Google Gears but comments are welcome...

The ASP model is NOT SaaS. Stop thinking that it is.
By Mike Jalonen, CEO, OnDemand Solutions, Inc.

I apologize in advance if this seems like a bashing rant but I need to get this off my chest. SaaS is many things but most importantly it is about SCALABILITY for the ISV. So many people think SaaS is only about the pricing of software or the fact that it can be delivered over the internet. Those are important concepts but if you are not thinking about SCALABILITY as the primary advantage you are missing the mark.

Customer on-boarding, provisioning, single instance, multi-tenant, a strong infrastructure, analytics and reporting, strategic pricing initiatives, free-trials, etc. are what SaaS companies need to be thinking of. This is what is going to set your company apart from your competition and help you achieve the economies of scale that you need to become rich.

Simply pricing or marketing your solution as SaaS when it is not (behind the scenes) will not help you hit the home run you are looking for. Each of these areas above (along with others) needs to be optimized for success and SCALABILITY. So many ISV’s say that they have a SaaS solution and when you ask – “So you don’t need to install new software for each customer?”, they say, “well we are working on that part”. If that’s your answer, you do not have a SaaS solution.

SaaS is more than pay as you go and delivering over the internet. It is about sharing and lowering all the costs incurred by the ISV with many clients so that you can offer it at a price as to enter new markets and get even more clients. You can do that best when your solution is a true SaaS solution. You need optimized application architecture, a rock solid and scalable infrastructure, and an understanding of SaaS principals to make that happen. There was a reason why dotcom happened. The ASP model is going out just as the client/server model is going out. Please understand the difference between ASP and SaaS and if you need help to get there, call us or call a competitor of ours to help.

Mike

Do what you do best and let others do the hosting

Do what you do best and let others do the hosting.
By Mike Jalonen, CEO, OnDemand Solutions, Inc.


Retaining clients is critical in the success of a Software as a Service (SaaS) company and retention is often determined by how well the software company can ensure uptime and availability of their software to the end user. This raises the question of whether Independent Software Vendors (ISV’s) should outsource the critical hosting infrastructure component of their business or keep it in house?


To decide on the best approach for your company you have to consider both cost against risk. Without a doubt hosting your own software can be expensive, and requires a different set of skill than is required for developing software applications. At a high level, all SaaS companies need to have software to solve the customer’s needs, hardware to run the software on, power to keep the hardware on, and an internet connection so people can access your software and hardware remotely. Unlike with the traditional software model where the customer owns the software, hardware, and infrastructure, in a SaaS model, the customer does not have access to fix a problem should something happen with any of these key components. For example, the SaaS customer does not have access to fix a broken hard drive, turn on a generator for backup power, or reboot the software if it were to “freeze”. These four crucial areas (software, hardware, power, and internet connection) now become the sole responsibility of the SaaS ISV. Along with this responsibility comes the high cost of keeping this complex operation running smoothly.


As a result of a large shift of responsibility from the customer to the ISV and the need for availability, many clients will require that the software company provide Service Level Agreements (SLA’s). SLA’s ensure the client that there will be a controlled amount of downtime. Each SLA will define what the customer will receive in terms of compensation if there is an interruption to the availability of the software that is now the responsibility of the ISV. SaaS ISV’s need to be responsible not only for ensuring the software is bug-free but also that the application is available constantly to meet the SLA’s agreed to by the client. If SLA’s are not kept, there are penalties or even worse, clients could leave. Many traditional On-Premise companies also comply with SLA’s but generally these SLA’s are for fixing bugs within the software only. The customer who purchases On-Premise software is most likely always responsible for the hardware that runs the software, the power, and the network that the software and hardware run on.


Many ISV’s find that developing software and providing software delivery and uptime services are different businesses altogether and require different skill sets. Therefore a vast majority of small and medium businesses (SMB) software companies recognize that it can be nearly impossible to manufacture software and provide application delivery (hosting) as well. With the onset of datacenters taking advantage of economies of scale, it can be very cost prohibitive for an ISV to have a secure location with redundant power and internet connection not to mention having staff available 24x7 to attend to software and hardware. Datacenters can provide these services much more economically by spreading the costs over many customers (similar to how the expenses of a SaaS company are spread out to clients). For this reason, many software companies (especially ISV’s in the SMB market) choose to outsource the delivery of their application to datacenter facilities.


Datacenters began with early computing. Computers and the infrastructure (cabling, etc.) required to keep them connected were very large and expensive. The computer equipment required a lot of power and constant environmental controls (such as temperature to avoid overheating) were critical. Over the years, with advances in technology, datacenters and their infrastructure have been able to scale to support many more clients and advances in technology. Data centers saw huge growth during the dot-com bubble. Then, as like today, datacenters began to look for ways to differentiate because customers began to view datacenters as a commodity.
So, what are the some of the key differentiators you should consider when looking for a datacenter to host your SaaS application?

• Does the datacenter specialize in co-location, dedicated, or managed hosting?

• Does the provider have experience in application hosting for software companies?

• What level of support do they provide from the Network Operations Center (NOC)?

• What rating or level of service does the provider offer?

• Does the provider offer a platform with specialized services such as analytics or billing? These services may be able to get you to market faster.

• Is the hosting company SAS70 certified? Is that important for your application?

• Where is the datacenter located?

With all these choices, what is best provider for your SaaS company? Each of these considerations will impact cost and profitability of your company. Making the wrong decisions can cost more than monthly recurring revenue that these providers collect, it can cost losing customers.

• Does the datacenter specialize in co-location, dedicated, or managed hosting?

Co-location or shared hosting is offered at a relatively low price point because datacenters can provide the greatest level of scale by providing one server for multiple customers. Shared hosting is not advisable for today’s SaaS ISV’s for many reasons including server administration, application security, and uptime (if one clients software affects the server that is shared with your application, your application will most likely be affected). At a minimum, SaaS ISV’s require a dedicated hosting service where the application is isolated on dedicated servers.
Dedicated hosting providers may provide the following types of support:

• Unmanaged: little to no involvement from the hosting service provider other than maintaining security on the network. Customer provides all maintenance, upgrades, patches, and security.
• Self Managed: Limited to regular monitoring and some maintenance from the service provider.
• Managed: Includes medium level of management, monitoring, updates, and a limited amount of support.
• Fully Managed: Includes monitoring, software updates, reboots, security patches and operating system upgrades.
Depending on the level of in house expertise and desire to be involved with your hardware, software, and infrastructure you should choose a dedicated model that best suits your budget, ROI, and peace of mind.

• Does the provider have experience in application hosting for software companies?

Providing hosting and support for ISV’s is different than for internal business applications being outsourced. SaaS hosting for software companies relies on providing a single instance for multiple tenants where as with traditional application hosting, each client has their own installed version of the software. In the traditional approach, if one client is down that can be bad news. With the SaaS model the risk is that the entire application fails and it will affect every customer. Companies that have been providing hosting for these types of clients are familiar with these challenges and can offer experiences to the ISV to help avoid situations like these.

• What level of support do they provide from the Network Operations Center (NOC)?

The people that are part of the NOC are responsible for monitoring the network and escalating issues for resolve in a hierarchal format. NOCs have levels which define how experienced a technician is. It may be beneficial to learn about how experienced the technicians at the data center are and what their procedures are in terms of escalation.

• What rating or level of service does the provider offer?

Each datacenter can be classified by the TIA-942 Data Center Standards Overview. The simplest is a Tier 1 data center, which consists of the most basic ingredients such as a room with little to no redundant components, may or may not have a raised floor, UPS, or generator, annual downtime of 28.8 hours, and must be shut down completely to perform preventive maintenance. In contrast, the Tier 4 data center has an annual downtime of 0.4 hours, is fault tolerant and is designed to host mission critical systems, with fully redundant subsystems and compartmentalized security zones controlled by biometric access control methods. Construction cost per square foot is greatly affected by the tier rating of the data center and so are the costs associated with utilizing the respective data center.

• Does the provider offer a platform with specialized services such as analytics or billing?


For the most part, hosting companies and data centers work with companies of all types – not just ISV’s. There are two categories of clients – clients who are interested in hosting internal facing applications (only viewed by their internal staff) or clients with externally facing applications offered to support their business offering (i.e. GEICO auto insurance) and clients such as ISV’s interested in hosting external facing applications for resale to their clients. In the case of the later, the hosting provider may offer some services that may be able to get you to market faster. These are services that can generally be offered to SaaS application providers because of the nature of the architecture of a SaaS application. Examples are billing, metering, and provisioning of clients and users, reporting and analytics of how users use your software (how many times they log in, what features do they use most, etc.), a common third party integration interface for third party applications, etc.


• Is the software company SAS 70 certified? Is that important for your application?

SAS 70 certification is for assessing certain service organizations that provide outsourcing services that affect the operation of the contracting party. Examples of service companies who apply for SAS 70 certification include hosted data centers, insurance claims processors, and credit processing companies. SAS 70 is the definition of standards that auditors must use to assess the internal controls of these service organizations. ISV’s who maintain sensitive information or in the healthcare or financial services industries will want to investigate whether the hosting company that holds your customer information is SAS 70 certified. Hosting companies who have become SAS 70 certified (either Type I or II) have invested a lot of time and resources and as a result this may be one more factor of why they may be more expensive.

Do what you do best.

Unless your company is Google or Salesforce.com, building your own hosting facility is probably not advisable. Today’s data centers and delivery partners are very sophisticated and are taking advantage of the huge economies of scale that will keep your expenses down and your applications up. Nicholas Carr’s book, The Big Switch, describes how manufacturing plants in United States during the 1800’s were required to generate their own electricity (on top of their core business of manufacturing). Then technology enabled the electronic grid system that we use today in our homes and businesses. Manufacturing companies who were producing their own electricity could then get more affordable and reliable electricity from an outside source taking advantage of the economies of scale. Hosting and data delivery has also reached that same plateau. So rather than thinking of weather you want to install a server, hook up your redundant hardware in your office, and provide users access we recommend spending your time evaluating which provider is right for you. This way you can focus the talents of your company on what you do best, and let hosting companies do what they do best. It’s a win-win for both.

ISVs Utilizing SaaS to Reach New Markets

The Software as a Service (SaaS) model is a tremendous model for the Independent Software Vendor (ISV) to reach new target markets without cannibalizing existing revenue streams. Many ISVs have created perpetual licensing models that are targeted at large enterprise software vendors who are willing to purchase software goods at high prices and renew these license terms on an annual basis. Although this has proven to an extremely profitable model for many ISVs, this model often neglects or excludes the SMB market.

Enter Software as a Service!

Migrating or extending existing software appications to the SaaS model often opens up new market opportunities, due to the subscription based nature of SaaS. Where the price point for entry may have previously been above the 50K mark, SaaS based offerings can reduce the barrier to entry by providing services to many thousands of subscribers rather than hundreds of enterprise class companies. Rather than creating a situation where the existing revenue stream of perpetually licensed products is cannibalized by the new SaaS offering, it is often possible to target the small to medium vendor segment, generate additional revenue opportunities, and develop a profitable migration path for existing enterprise customers to also take advantage of the SaaS offering.

ISVs considering entering the SaaS market should consider that SaaS revenues are increasing rapidly. According to IDC, by 2010, subscription based revenues will account for 8% of all software revenue. ISVs can take advantage of this trend by rapidly developing SaaS applications to enter new markets, expand existing market share, and migrate existing customers to a more cost effective delivery platform.

In considering entering the SaaS space, ISVs should consider the operational benefits associated with supporting a single version of a hosted platform, as well as potential revenue from professional services engagements to migrate existing customers from perpetually licensed models to the subscription based SaaS model. If planned properly, the migration from the perpetual license model to the SaaS model can increase professional services revenue, provide short-term diversification to revenue streams, and provide long-term predictability for SaaS based revenues.

Utilizing SaaS to Address the Channel

For many companies creating a SaaS application, often times one of the last considerations is how to support channel partners in the SaaS model. As many business models rely on channel relationships for growth and stability, overlooking support for channel partners can be a costly mistake.

There are a number of items to consider in creating a SaaS application that supports the channel model.

First, will the look and feel of the application need to specific to each channel partner or VAR? Depending on the relationships with your channel vendors, it may be necessary to co-brand or display your SaaS offering in the channel partner look and feel. This requirement should be factored into the design of your SaaS application because your SaaS application may need to be both multi-tenant and multi-channel. There are eloquent strategies to solving this problem but they are difficult implement retroactively.

Second, how will you share the data in your SaaS application with your channel partners? Depending on the type of relationships you have with your channel partners, you may need to support many different types of sharing relationships. A couple examples of these sharing relationships are the single-blind and double-blind models. In a single-blind model, the Original SaaS Manufacturer (OSM) will be able to see all or some of the data accessible to the channel partner but the channel partner can see none of the OSM data. Depending on contractual relationships, this model can also be reversed to ensure the OSM does not see portions of a channel partners data. In a double-blind model, neither the OSM nor the channel partner is allowed to view or utlize the data of the other party. The need to support these models often arises from sensitivity to sharing customer or order information. Ensuring that these complex sharing relationships are incorporated into your SaaS application will be key to successfully implementing a SaaS based channel strategy.

Lastly, SaaS applications successfully supporting the channel will need to build on complex data sharing relationships to provide appropriate reporting frameworks. Considering how your channel partners will need to leverage the data in your SaaS applictation will go a long way towards enticing additional channel streams to utilize your offering. It is important to consider how the channel partner’s needs will differ from a direct customer with regard to reporting. It is highly likely that items such of Point of Sale reports for the channel will need to include additional attributes that go beyond the needs of the direct customer.

Leverging the channel in a SaaS based application can help to drive revenue streams and deepen partner relationships. Taking the time and care to address channel needs as part of the upfront SaaS design process will be time well spent.

The difference between "ASP", "On Demand", and "SaaS"

What is the difference between ASP, On Demand, and SaaS?

I am frequently asked about the difference between the terms: Application Service Provider (ASP), OnDemand, and Software as a Service (SaaS).

Simply put, OnDemand Software refers to the delivery of software over the internet on a subscription or per transaction basis. OnDemand software is created in one of two ways. The first option, (v1.0) utilizes an ASP to convert legacy software applications (software that was not designed to be deployed over the internet) and the applicable hardware to fit the OnDemand definition. The second option, (v2.0) is for Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) or SaaS Enablers to develop the software from the ground up in accordance with the SaaS concept.

On Demand or “OnDemand”

OnDemand software refers to software that is:

(1) Accessed via a commonly used protocol such as the http (web)
(2) Priced in a cost-effective manor (subscription or per transaction versus capital investment)
(3) Requires the ISV or OnDemand company to maintain the software (often with the use of service level agreements or “SLAs”)
(4) Is hosted or resides at a centralized facility
(5) Capable of of immediate quick utilization (hence “on demand”).

As stated above and clarified below, there are two ways of making software available OnDemand.

Application Service Provider (ASP)

The concept of ASPs is far from new. Non-internet ASP models evolved piror to the conception of the internet. The airline industry provides an example of a non-internet ASP concept. I recommend visiting the article found at http://computer.howstuffworks.com/asp1.htm to further understand the concept of a non-internet ASP.

ASPs on the internet were the first companies to deploy, host, and manage access to traditional software (i.e. packaged) applications to multiple clients from a centrally managed facility. The traditional software applications and hardware infrastructures were converted to allow clients the ability to access the application over the internet instead of installing the software onsite.

As a result of this new delivery method, software pricing models began to change. Now that the ASPs had full control of the software, payment could be collected on a “pay-as-you-go” or “per transaction” basis. This revolutionized the software industry mainly because customers who normally could not afford the capital investment of software could afford a subscription based model. Think of ASP’s as the version 1.0 enablers who took existing applications which where not intended to be web-accessable and made them available to clients over the web for an affordable investment.

ASPs lead the way for delivery and pricing software as a service instead of consumers purchasing a software product. ASPs have several limitations based on the development of legacy software. These limitations are what lead to the concept of building and delivering new software in the SaaS model.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

You probably have a good feeling of what SaaS is now. SaaS is a model of software delivery (all activities that make a software available for use). Software in the SaaS model is paid for on some form of consumption basis (rather than the traditional perpetual license) and the application and server side hardware infrastructure is hosted, maintained, enhanced, managed, and upgraded the SaaS provider.

Links for more information

http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=33453&pageType=PRINTFRIENDLY#33453-S-0001 - IDC 2005 software as a service taxonomy and research guide. This is a great research paper for anyone interested in SaaS.

http://www.wikipedia.org/ – This is a great site to look up definitions such as OnDemand, ASP, SaaS, ISV, etc.

The Evolution of Software Licensing

Traditionally, software licensing strategies have been dominated by the concepts of fear and piracy to embed complex licensing and/or cumbersome licensing schemes into perpetually licensed software products. This tactic has proven to be highly profitable for market leaders in this space such as Macrovision and generated strong industry wide competition and innovation from competing companies such as SafeNet, Reprise, and Agilis.

The problem with a perpetually licensed approach is that the bells and whistles embedded into these schemes are often misused by customers and create customer dissatisfaction and resentment. Complex licensing schemes are difficult to implement, hard to maintain, and difficult for customers to use. Additionally, these schemes often prevent honest customers from purchasing additional seats because it is difficult to monitor usage. Finally, companies who make use of all available licensing features often find they have created a product management nightmare.

Honest customers want to remain honest and comply with the terms of licensing agreements. Software companies want to protect revenue streams by ensuring compliance and preventing piracy, as well as expanding usage. Meeting all of these demands in the perpetual licensing model is difficult at best.

The SaaS model solves this problem by being inherently tied to the concepts of subscription and usage. The majority of SaaS applications today make use of basic username/password authentication schemes to grant access to all or some of a SaaS based application. This model is much more eloquent than having to request or reset perpetually based licensing features. In this model, the burden of license management is removed from the customer and passed onto the product management function of the SaaS provider. Successful SaaS applications build restricted access relationships into the offering and tie roles and rights to an authenticated user. Thus, when companies want to add users or subscriptions there is typically a self-service module to facilitate such requests and existing agreements or credit cards are charged appropriately without modification.

For SaaS companies that have considered the product management aspects of subscription or metered consumption before deploying their SaaS application, this is a wonderful model for facilitating additional usage and/or subscribers. For those companies that have not thought through subscription access, there is a strong market need for the development of a SaaS based subscription management service that assists SaaS companies in managing and developing subscriptions within their SaaS applications.

Nevertheless, the SaaS based licensing model provides an eloquent evolution for license management.

SaaS Advantages - The Customers Perspective

Why would you or your company consider using software deployed as a service, i.e. Software as a Service (SaaS)? There are numerous resources and discussions on the web about the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing SaaS as an alternative to purchasing a perpetual license. If you would like further insight on SaaS and its evolution, please see The difference between “ASP”, “OnDemand”, and “SaaS”.

Ultimately, the customer has the upper hand! These days, competition within the software industry is fiercer than ever. Software products and services are plentiful. With the abundant number of available solutions, clients are likely to find software for their needs delivered in both the traditional “product” model and the on demand SaaS “pay and use now” model. In some cases, SaaS providers have a hybrid model allowing customers the ability to choose from SaaS or software as a product. With this approach, clients can move from one delivery model to the other as the need arises. This hybrid approach may seem slick, but challenges arise and clients may find additional costs associated with data migration, scalability, and additional user training.

Why should the customer choose SaaS?

Choosing SaaS instead of a perpetual license has many advantages for both the small and large business. Small businesses typically can earn the highest return on investment utilizing SaaS. They benefit from technology that, originally, only larger businesses could afford or develop. Below are the top five reasons why a customer of any size can benefit from software as a service. Each of the benefits listed below are integrated. For example, the customer is up and running quickly. This is a benefit on its own, but at the same time, a fast deployment will reduce cost of system implementation for the customer. In summary, SaaS allows customers to speed implementation, minimize implementation expense and risk and overcomes in-house IT infrastructure.

1. Price!

The traditional delivery of software is almost always considered a capital or “upfront” investment. With the SaaS model, the customer pays as they consume the software. This helps by removing the barrier of entry for individuals who would not ordinarily be able to afford the software. The new pricing model also helps organizations using SaaS to appropriately budget software costs for future consumption. Unlike traditional software that can have significant hidden costs (additional modules, large setup fees, or additional hardware) the SaaS model has few up-front unknowns. (Note: Customers should still be aware of integration and scalability costs!) The number one benefit of SaaS is that the cost associated with building (or purchasing) and maintaining the SaaS solution is spread over a number of customers. This leads to shared costs and subsequent reduction in the cost of the software per customer.

2. Up and running quickly!

With SaaS or OnDemand software, onsite hardware or software installation is not required (in some situations minor installations may be required). Customers are up in running in hours or weeks instead of months or years (hence the name “OnDemand”). Following a configuration period, the user is typically “up and running”. Due to the nature of the SaaS delivery, users can typically run a free trial before purchase. A free trial can cut down on the amount of time it takes to complete the due diligence phase of purchasing software, which leads to a shortened implementation timeline.

3. Low risk!

Since users rent versus own the software, they are typically in a “pay-as-you-go” or “per transaction” pricing structure. There are almost always Service Level Agreements (SLA) that allow the customer to back out of the contract if the SaaS provider does not meet the agreed upon service requirements. If the software turns out not to fit the customer, the customer can “opt out” before they spend too much money. (Be aware that even with SaaS, there are several additional costs such as change management, training, integration, and setup).

4. Reduced IT headcount!

Due to the nature of SaaS, customers can use the software with thin client technology. This means that software no longer needs to be installed on PCs, which significantly cuts down on IT involvement. For the most part, customers do not have to worry about hardware, database support, scalability, uptime, reliability, or platforms. Since the SaaS provider is responsible for hosting, managing, and enhancing the software application, the customer can reduce and reallocate (or remove) the amount of IT staff and dollars to other areas. IT professionals, much like surgeons, are usually highly compensated and very specialized. By building software to fit the SaaS model, customers can eliminate specialized IT infrastructure for the application and its respective supporting applications. SaaS providers often have more application experience than in-house staff, leading to more quality software applications. Since the SaaS provider is responsible for providing these resources, each resource can be highly utilized and paid for over several customers.

5. Security & Data backup!

SaaS providers utilize more stringent security measures than the customer would. The SaaS model means that costs are shared amongst all the users, therefore there are typically more resources and funds to allocate to security than if one organization had to do this on their own. This applies to data backup, since the SaaS provider is also responsible for ensuring the safety of the data. There are more resources, so regular audits and detailed plans are used to ensure the safety of the data.

Links

Does anyone buy software any more by James Maguire? check here