Software as a Service
Introduction:
The world has seen numerous so-called disruptive technologies come and go. Some have had a profound impact on how we run our businesses and go about our daily lives and many have not. Some were long lasting and others were gone in a flash. Software as a Service (SaaS) is proving to have great potential to impact our lives in almost every way. Take for example a small business in Kansas that now has immediate access to a global market by listing its products on eBay. Consider a mid-size company that, due to the cost of the software license and required infrastructure, could never afford a true sales force automation tool, but now thanks to salesforce.com has a best-of-breed CRM system for $59.00 per user per month, with no upfront cost Families can now share photos with friends across the country with services like flickr. The list goes on and on. The list goes on and on.
The examples above share the following key elements:
Ø The software is paid for as it is consumed;
Ø The consumer has no software, hardware, or infrastructure to purchase, install, or maintain;
Ø Apart from a personal computer and an Internet connection, all parts of the solution are provided by the software vendor.
SaaS, an acronym for Software as a Service, is a method of “Gaining Software functionality and benefits via web, at a lower cost and reduced complexity, as compared to its commercially licensed, internally operated counterpart”. Basically, SaaS refers to deliver software, providing its n remotely as a web based service, on a pay –per-use basis.
SaaS, can also be referred as an on-demand service, provided by the software vendors to the customers, either from their own servers, or by downloading and enabling it to customer’s system, within the period of contract.
SaaS requires very less download as compared to locally housed applications. For this reason, it is also referred to as “Thin Client”. All the data is present as Hosted Server, none is stored at user’s site.
In the scenario of recession and cost cutting, SaaS is specially considered helpful for the businesses having frequent changes in software service requirements, as it eliminates the risk of obsolescence associated with traditional software implementations and provides immediate access to new functionality . It also significantly reduces the initial cost, incorporated in deploying new software. Also, for home users, it provides a cheaper way to access software, by subscribing and charging them only for the required functionalities, saving the costs in licensing for all the available functionalities in traditional software, even if some of them are not of use.
History of SaaS:
ASP (Application Service Provider) came into picture in 1990’s. ASP offered all the functionalities offered by SaaS i.e. “Application hosted on server, delivered to users over internet”. The drawback with ASP was that they offered all the features of the application to all the users, in contrast to SaaS, where only selected features are provided to users, based on their needs.
The concept of "software as a service" started to circulate before 1999. One of the first SaaS applications was SiteEasy, a web-site-in-a-box for small businesses that launched in 1998 at Siteeasy.com. Developed by Atlanta-based firm WebTransit (co-founded by Gary Troutman and Drew Wilkins), SiteEasy was sold on a subscription-basis for a monthly fee to its first customer in the fall of 1998
SaaS, overcomes all the limitations by using “Multi-Tenant” architecture, which allows multiple users to utilize a single set of application and database. This architecture allows the vendors to keep infrastructure and maintenance cist low. But the question comes into mind “what about the security of the data?” as the database is shared among all the customers.
Next generation SaaS overcomes this by delivering “Single Tenant SaaS” where each user is provided with a unique instance of software application and database. In this architecture, the overall cost is kept low through data center automation and virtualization.
SaaS Architecture and Functionality
SaaS architecture can be called as extension of Distributed Application Architecture. A distributed application architecture has its database and application distributed across various locations, each location communication with each other. This architecture is a solution for scalability issues and operational overheads of the distribution, installation and maintenance of the client software on user’s desktop present in centralized database architecture. Recent SaaS architecture includes additional components, needed to facilitate the operation and management of different environments in which SaaS customer run the software.
The recent SaaS architecture is divided into various components, each having its own specific functionality.
1) Distribution Tier:
With the increasingly popularity of SaaS, more and more customers have joined hands with it, with this proliferation in numbers of customers, the need of load balancing mechanism became crucial for SaaS. Distribution tier is responsible to distribute the load evenly across servers, thereby improving the overall throughput and resource utilization. It also ensures high availability, thereby reducing overall response time.
2) Application Tier Component:
The application server in SaaS is divided into several components, each having a specific task to perform. This approach provides a systematic functionality-division, thereby reducing the overall complexity and ensuring high availability. The application server in SaaS architecture can be divided into following components:
Ø Identity Management Server: With the proliferating number of customers, the need for proper security management has become indispensable in SaaS architecture. Identity management server is responsible for handling User Identity Management in a standardized way, thereby ensuring the security of user’s data.
Ø Integration Server: With increasing popularity, more and more customers, who were previously using traditional software, are now joining hands with SaaS, which gives rise to the need to integrate a SaaS solution with existing software system. Integration server is responsible for this integration, hence making it easier for customer to join with SaaS.
Ø Communication Server: It is responsible to handle all kind of communications with SaaS users.
3) Administration Tier:
SaaS has emerged as a huge market in recent times, and to handle it properly, it needs proper administration, which makes a separate Administration Tier crucial in SaaS architecture. This tier is responsible for handling tasks like metering the usage of software by a customer, billing and payments by a customer according to usage policies, and maintenance and support to SaaS environments to keep it up and running.
4) Infrastructure monitoring:
For proper functioning of business, SaaS infrastructure needs to be locally and geographically resilient. For this, the environment needs to be operationally monitored. There are certain tools used for this purpose. These includes “S.L.A. (Service Level Agreement) Reporting tool”, used to monitor and manage S.A.L., “Support matrix” for managing overall support functions, including customer service details, performance of support staff and customer satisfaction level and “Quality Matrix” for maintaining quality of service by business, based on the customer feedback s in the feedback loop created by this process.
5) Configuration tier:
Various types of customers require different configuration of the same software according to suitability. This tier is responsible for managing and customizing the software based on the user’s choice. The customization includes changing functionality as well as look and feel of the software.
Characteristics of SaaS Software:
Ø Network-based access to and managed of, commercially available software.
Ø Activities managed from central locations rather than at each customer’s site, enabling customers to access applications remotely via the web.
Ø Application delivery typically closer to a one –to- many models than to a one-to-one model, including architecture, pricing, partnering and management characteristics.
Ø Centralized features updating, which obviates the need for end users to download patches and upgrades.
Ø Frequent integration into a larger network of communication software- either as a part of a mash up or as a plug-in to a platform as a service.
Conclusion:
Software as a Service is a kind of “Recession Repellent Tools” for organizations. It has achieved huge popularity and business proliferation in recession scenario and is continuing to foster. The lot of features like data security, fault tolerance, high availability, easy integration, low initial cost and new add-ons in SaaS architecture makes it a beneficial choice fro both the vendors as well as customers.
Manasi Kulkarni
Introduction:
The world has seen numerous so-called disruptive technologies come and go. Some have had a profound impact on how we run our businesses and go about our daily lives and many have not. Some were long lasting and others were gone in a flash. Software as a Service (SaaS) is proving to have great potential to impact our lives in almost every way. Take for example a small business in Kansas that now has immediate access to a global market by listing its products on eBay. Consider a mid-size company that, due to the cost of the software license and required infrastructure, could never afford a true sales force automation tool, but now thanks to salesforce.com has a best-of-breed CRM system for $59.00 per user per month, with no upfront cost Families can now share photos with friends across the country with services like flickr. The list goes on and on. The list goes on and on.
The examples above share the following key elements:
Ø The software is paid for as it is consumed;
Ø The consumer has no software, hardware, or infrastructure to purchase, install, or maintain;
Ø Apart from a personal computer and an Internet connection, all parts of the solution are provided by the software vendor.
SaaS, an acronym for Software as a Service, is a method of “Gaining Software functionality and benefits via web, at a lower cost and reduced complexity, as compared to its commercially licensed, internally operated counterpart”. Basically, SaaS refers to deliver software, providing its n remotely as a web based service, on a pay –per-use basis.
SaaS, can also be referred as an on-demand service, provided by the software vendors to the customers, either from their own servers, or by downloading and enabling it to customer’s system, within the period of contract.
SaaS requires very less download as compared to locally housed applications. For this reason, it is also referred to as “Thin Client”. All the data is present as Hosted Server, none is stored at user’s site.
In the scenario of recession and cost cutting, SaaS is specially considered helpful for the businesses having frequent changes in software service requirements, as it eliminates the risk of obsolescence associated with traditional software implementations and provides immediate access to new functionality . It also significantly reduces the initial cost, incorporated in deploying new software. Also, for home users, it provides a cheaper way to access software, by subscribing and charging them only for the required functionalities, saving the costs in licensing for all the available functionalities in traditional software, even if some of them are not of use.
History of SaaS:
ASP (Application Service Provider) came into picture in 1990’s. ASP offered all the functionalities offered by SaaS i.e. “Application hosted on server, delivered to users over internet”. The drawback with ASP was that they offered all the features of the application to all the users, in contrast to SaaS, where only selected features are provided to users, based on their needs.
The concept of "software as a service" started to circulate before 1999. One of the first SaaS applications was SiteEasy, a web-site-in-a-box for small businesses that launched in 1998 at Siteeasy.com. Developed by Atlanta-based firm WebTransit (co-founded by Gary Troutman and Drew Wilkins), SiteEasy was sold on a subscription-basis for a monthly fee to its first customer in the fall of 1998
SaaS, overcomes all the limitations by using “Multi-Tenant” architecture, which allows multiple users to utilize a single set of application and database. This architecture allows the vendors to keep infrastructure and maintenance cist low. But the question comes into mind “what about the security of the data?” as the database is shared among all the customers.
Next generation SaaS overcomes this by delivering “Single Tenant SaaS” where each user is provided with a unique instance of software application and database. In this architecture, the overall cost is kept low through data center automation and virtualization.
SaaS Architecture and Functionality
SaaS architecture can be called as extension of Distributed Application Architecture. A distributed application architecture has its database and application distributed across various locations, each location communication with each other. This architecture is a solution for scalability issues and operational overheads of the distribution, installation and maintenance of the client software on user’s desktop present in centralized database architecture. Recent SaaS architecture includes additional components, needed to facilitate the operation and management of different environments in which SaaS customer run the software.
The recent SaaS architecture is divided into various components, each having its own specific functionality.
1) Distribution Tier:
With the increasingly popularity of SaaS, more and more customers have joined hands with it, with this proliferation in numbers of customers, the need of load balancing mechanism became crucial for SaaS. Distribution tier is responsible to distribute the load evenly across servers, thereby improving the overall throughput and resource utilization. It also ensures high availability, thereby reducing overall response time.
2) Application Tier Component:
The application server in SaaS is divided into several components, each having a specific task to perform. This approach provides a systematic functionality-division, thereby reducing the overall complexity and ensuring high availability. The application server in SaaS architecture can be divided into following components:
Ø Identity Management Server: With the proliferating number of customers, the need for proper security management has become indispensable in SaaS architecture. Identity management server is responsible for handling User Identity Management in a standardized way, thereby ensuring the security of user’s data.
Ø Integration Server: With increasing popularity, more and more customers, who were previously using traditional software, are now joining hands with SaaS, which gives rise to the need to integrate a SaaS solution with existing software system. Integration server is responsible for this integration, hence making it easier for customer to join with SaaS.
Ø Communication Server: It is responsible to handle all kind of communications with SaaS users.
3) Administration Tier:
SaaS has emerged as a huge market in recent times, and to handle it properly, it needs proper administration, which makes a separate Administration Tier crucial in SaaS architecture. This tier is responsible for handling tasks like metering the usage of software by a customer, billing and payments by a customer according to usage policies, and maintenance and support to SaaS environments to keep it up and running.
4) Infrastructure monitoring:
For proper functioning of business, SaaS infrastructure needs to be locally and geographically resilient. For this, the environment needs to be operationally monitored. There are certain tools used for this purpose. These includes “S.L.A. (Service Level Agreement) Reporting tool”, used to monitor and manage S.A.L., “Support matrix” for managing overall support functions, including customer service details, performance of support staff and customer satisfaction level and “Quality Matrix” for maintaining quality of service by business, based on the customer feedback s in the feedback loop created by this process.
5) Configuration tier:
Various types of customers require different configuration of the same software according to suitability. This tier is responsible for managing and customizing the software based on the user’s choice. The customization includes changing functionality as well as look and feel of the software.
Characteristics of SaaS Software:
Ø Network-based access to and managed of, commercially available software.
Ø Activities managed from central locations rather than at each customer’s site, enabling customers to access applications remotely via the web.
Ø Application delivery typically closer to a one –to- many models than to a one-to-one model, including architecture, pricing, partnering and management characteristics.
Ø Centralized features updating, which obviates the need for end users to download patches and upgrades.
Ø Frequent integration into a larger network of communication software- either as a part of a mash up or as a plug-in to a platform as a service.
Conclusion:
Software as a Service is a kind of “Recession Repellent Tools” for organizations. It has achieved huge popularity and business proliferation in recession scenario and is continuing to foster. The lot of features like data security, fault tolerance, high availability, easy integration, low initial cost and new add-ons in SaaS architecture makes it a beneficial choice fro both the vendors as well as customers.
Manasi Kulkarni
