Software as a Service
Software as a service (SaaS, typically pronounced [sæs]), sometimes referred to as "software on demand," is software that is deployed over the internet and/or is deployed to run behind a firewall on a local area network or personal computer. With SaaS, a provider licenses an application to customers as a service on demand, through a subscription or a "pay-as-you-go" model.
SaaS was initially widely deployed for sales force automation and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Now, it has become commonplace for many businesses tasks, including computerized billing, invoicing, human resource management, financials, content management, collaboration, document management, and service desk management.
History:
Software as a service's acronym "SaaS" was first used in an article called "Strategic Backgrounder: Software as a Service." It was published in February 2001 by the Software & Information Industry's (SIIA) eBusiness Division. The 18 page document is one of the most complete essays pertaining to SaaS available today. SIIA developed the backgrounder to analyze the current state of the SaaS market and its near term prospects, and to provide insight for its members who may be profoundly impacted by changes implied in the SaaS mode. Software as a service is essentially an extension of the idea of the Application Service Provider (ASP) model.
Philosophy:
Software and business professionals generally associate the term SaaS with business software, and as a possibly lower-cost way for businesses to use software as needed rather than license all devices with all applications. With a well-designed implementation and properly priced licenses, on-demand SaaS provides license benefits without associated complexity and the potential high cost to equip devices with applications they may not need.
Some software fits the SaaS model. Many Unix applications already work this way, while EULA applications never had this flexibility before SaaS.[clarification needed] A licensed copy of a word processor, for example, had to reside on the machine to create a document. The equipped program has no intrinsic value loaded on a computer that is turned off for the night. The same employee may need another fully paid license to write or edit a report at home on their own computer, while the work license is inoperative.
Remote administration software attempts to resolve this issue by letting, for example, someone on a home computer remotely operate their machine at work to create a document in a word processor licensed on that machine. While promising, this requires leaving the host computer on and creates security issues. SaaS achieves efficiencies by enabling on-demand licensing and management of information and output, independent of hardware location.
Source: Wikipedia
