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A Beginner’s Guide to Software as a Service

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Also known as on-demand software, hosted software, and web-based software, Software as a Service (SaaS) is a considerably new phenomenon that is likely to take off in the near future. It fits perfectly with the theme of the third wave of technological advancement, alongside other inventions such as virtual and augmented reality and idenitity verification software

SaaS is essentially an Internet service that allows you to install and run both the software and hardware of your laptop or computer. On top of that, SaaS provides its users with reliable security and high performance. Since SaaS has only been recently launched, many Internet users are still not familiar with its functions which repel them from using the service. In this article, you’ll get to know more about what SaaS entail exactly and how you can benefit from its services. Read on to find out!

Characteristics of SaaS

It might be your first time learning about this cloud-based system. To better understand what SaaS is all about, let us take a look at some of its key characteristics. 

Multitenant Host 

What this means is that SaaS essentially acts like a one-stop application service on the Internet as all its clients use the same software infrastructure and code base. 

Being run by the same algorithm allows all users to function more holistically and in sync. This helps to save resources required to maintain and update the older codes in terms of time, manpower, and business cost.

This allows it to be so that everyone can operate in unison when they are all powered by the same algorithm. SaaS’s ability to be a Multitenant Host is one of the key characteristics of SaaS.

The Flexibility of Personal Customisation

With SaaS, users can personalise their own applications and download only those that they wish to have. Hence, every user will have his or her own unique experience when using the service. This also reduces any customer risk that the user might incur due to there being lesser applications that may induce a breach.

Highly Accessible

SaaS has a steady and reliable formulated software that allows users to gain access to their applications as long as they have Internet access. With a central core, SaaS can also operate more smoothly and makes it easier for them to track the data and codes more easily.

Progressive and Innovative

The applications that SaaS hosts are what we can call “up-to-date”. This means that they utilise the interfaces that most of us are familiar with today. Be it Amazon.com or My Yahoo!, users can make personal customisations and rearrange their software with more ease.

Benefits Of Using SaaS

SaaS is gaining popularity for good reasons which explains why more businesses are now turning to these cloud-based solutions to adapt to the third wave of technological advancement that we are now currently in the midst of. 

Now that you know a little more about what SaaS can offer, let us take a look at some of the main benefits that it offers.

Affordable

One of the first questions that many people typically raise is how much things cost and using the SaaS is no exception. Well, for the most part, creating a new account is free but there are some necessary services that you need to pay for in order for the account to be useful. The cost differs from user to user but in general, expect to pay a low price.

Convenient and Accessible

As mentioned, as long as you have internet access on your smart device, the SaaS software is ready to be launched and used any time and anywhere. This provides users who are usually travelling around with the flexibility to work in spaces outside their office. 

Versatile and Scalable 

For businesses looking to adopt SaaS, you can upgrade the system’s data and functionality to better suit your business requirements. In other words, say your business is expanding. New people are joining your team and the amount of data and files is growing. SaaS allows you to expand the storage accordingly. 

Continuous and Automatic Updates

SaaS is constantly looking to improve its software to provide its users with a better experience. Through its consistent research and development, new updates will be continuously rolled out to better suit the needs of the users. 

With automatic updates, your user experience will surely be optimised.

Strong and Reliable Security

SaaS aims to provide its users with a safe and secure experience. You need not worry too much about any information hacking or software breaching when you use the service. 

What About Packaged Software?

Prior to SaaS, a cloud-based software, businesses typically went for packaged software to keep themselves organised and on the right track. If you don’t know what packaged software is, it basically encompasses multiple application systems where each one is used for a different purpose. 

For example, a typical packaged software can include application systems for email, spreadsheets, and project management. This adds up to a handful. 

Each software would have to be individual, evaluated, installed, and maintained in order to ensure that it is working in its optimal conditions. This gives the IT department much more responsibilities and duties to fulfil. While some may argue that it is indeed the job of the IT team to perform such tasks, what if you were told that these are things that can be avoided?

Well, just treat SaaS like a one-stop software shop. With only SaaS, you’ll have access to all the necessary applications required to keep your business running. You won’t have to spend the extra time, manpower, and resources to individually maintain the systems in the packaged software. Instead, channel them into more productive things and accelerate the growth of your company.

Conclusion

And there we have it! That was a brief introduction to what SaaS entails and hopefully, you found this article to be helpful. That said, what was covered in this article barely covered the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more to SaaS. If you are intrigued and want to find out more, you should spend some time doing more thorough research. 

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