What is SaaS

**G.randhir** · 22-08-2009

Hi,, i just need some information about SaaS. What i know about this is just that it is some kind of application that is hosted on a remote server and accessed through the Internet. Now as for my knowledge on internet, i need to know exactly what is SaaS and what it does ? Could anyone can help me out here ? Kindness appreciated.

**Jackson2** · 22-08-2009

SaaS stands for Software as a Service is a software delivery method that provides access to software and its functions remotely as a Web-based service. has the potential to transform the way information-technology (IT) departments relate to and even think about their role as providers of computing services to the rest of the enterprise. The emergence of SaaS as an effective software-delivery mechanism creates an opportunity for IT departments to change their focus from deploying and supporting applications to managing the services that those applications provide. A successful service-centric IT, in turn, directly produces more value for the business by providing services that draw from both internal and external sources and align closely with business goals.

This is the third article in our series about SaaS. The first two articles, which can be found by clicking here, focused on the details of developing SaaS applications and providing them to customers. This time, we'd like to turn the question around and look at SaaS from the perspective of the enterprise consumer: How can IT departments benefit from adding SaaS applications to their portfolio of services? What are the implications of adding externally hosted applications to an enterprise-computing environment? What will one have to do to get ready for SaaS? This article will address all these points and examine a few special cases in which it might make sense for your department to become a SaaS provider, as well as a consumer.

**Maq.H** · 22-08-2009

SaaS allows organizations to access business functionality at a cost typically less than paying for licensed applications since SaaS pricing is based on a monthly feeToday, SaaS applications are expected to take advantage of the benefits of centralization through a single-instance, multi-tenant architecture, and to provide a feature-rich experience competitive with comparable on-premise applications. A typical SaaS application is offered either directly by the vendor or by an intermediary party called an aggregator, which bundles SaaS offerings from different vendors and offers them as part of a unified application platform.

Of course, just because you can add SaaS to your IT infrastructure is not by itself a reason to do it; there has to be a viable business reason, too. SaaS offers substantial opportunities for organizations of all sizes to shift the risks of software acquisition, and to move IT from a reactive cost center to being a proactive, value-producing part of the enterprise.

**deveritt** · 22-08-2009

SaaS is a technique in the field of software technology that enables you to hire any software application only when there is a requirement of such a utility.With SaaS, the job of deploying an application and keeping it running from day to day—testing and installing patches, managing upgrades, monitoring performance, ensuring high availability, and so forth—is handled by the provider. By transferring the responsibility for these "overhead" activities to a third party, the IT department can focus more on high-value activities that align with and support the business goals of the enterprise.

Instead of being primarily reactive and operations-focused, the chief information officer (CIO) and IT staff can more effectively function as technology strategists to the rest of the company, working with business units to understand their business needs and advise them on how best to use technology to accomplish their objectives. Far from being made obsolete by SaaS, the IT department has an opportunity to contribute to the success of the enterprise more directly than ever before.