by: Basham Anant There is a lot written about Cloud Computing as a disruptive technology trend. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is an important Cloud Computing segment. As it relates to packaged software companies, I believe Cloud Computing can be a solution for incumbents that are facing the very real possibility of being made irrelevant by Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Open Source entrants. One of the major selling points for SaaS is the near-zero upfront and ongoing costs for customers with respect to procuring prerequisite hardware and software, getting the software installed and configured and managing all of it once in production. With Cloud Computing, you could mimic these benefits of SaaS by packaging your software into virtual appliances, much like Oracle has done for its database software and developer tools (see Oracle Appliance on Amazon EC2 for details ) . This approach can allow incumbents to mimic the “zero software” benefits of SaaS and preempt it in some segments. In particular, virtual appliances, when priced appropriately, can prempt the so-called low-end market disruption that SaaS targets. Low-end market disruption (see this article for a discussion of new market vs low-end disruption ) refers to situations where an entrant offers a cheaper product with a lot less functionality. Virtual appliances, in particular, can potentially help you price and package your products for entry level users and occasional users and push the cost of managing the software and hardware to a cloud service provider like Amazon. Interestingly enough, according to Innovator’s Solution , a technology that is not disruptive to all incumbents does not meet the criteria for a disruptive technology. Which begs the question, is SaaS really disruptive, at least as described in this article?
Posts Tagged ‘saas’
Cloud Computing as an Innovator’s Solution
Posted in Software Piracy 
Tags: all-incumbents, amazon, article, basham-anant, cheaper-product, Cloud, cloud-computing, facing-the-very, not-disruptive, Oracle, push-the-cost, saas 
Comments OffSoftSummit Shaping up to be a Great Software Licensing and Pricing Event
We're about a month away (October 11-13) from our annual SoftSummit software licensing and software pricing conference in San Jose, CA.
Posted in Software Piracy Tags: Convergence, Industry, Oracle, perspectives, president, saas, speaker, summer-speaker Comments OffWolf Platform as a Service, Complete Saas Development Platform on the Internet ..
Founded in 2006, Wolf Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) is the first 100% XML based OnDemand application development and delivery platform on the Internet for business users, knowledge workers & software developers to create custom Business Applications and Analytical Services without worrying about software-hardware-storage or technical development skills. Offered on the web as a service, the framework allows SME’s and ISV’s to build from simple day to day personal applications to complex CRM, Time and Billing, ERP, Inventory, Accounting, Financial, Compliance or Mashable applications with point and click user interface without any upfront investments. As a open standard cloud computing platform, software is created & delivered automatically and is easily integrated with existing systems while users only need to configure, click and drop to build their screens, menu’s & make English like statements to add business rules. No script or programming required; a SaaS development platform for businesses and ISV’s. You can pay-as-you-use and build new software apps 75 times faster or quickly convert your existing software’s into SaaS using our Wolf PaaS development License! As a customer-partner of Wolf PaaS: You can develop business applications such as ERP, CRM, Time and Billing, Vendor Management, Retail, Project Management, HRMS, Customer Support or analytics without writing any piece of code. You save more than 75% of your time/cost in building new applications with much higher features and functions from your SaaS based application. You can easily test, deploy and demonstrate your business applications to potential customers online via the Wolf solutions Gallery. Or, just use your application for your own needs. You can customize your business application for specific customers; sell additional services and your application, setup unique customer workplace for them to get started right away. You can also provide the option to save their data in the secured cloud or their own hosted MySql® database. Have a look at some of the ready partner applications from our Solutions Gallery, such as the Online CRM, Defect Tracker, Warehouse Mgmt, etc for your own use: http://www.wolfframeworks.com/solutiongallery.asp or sign up and get started… Please visit www.wolfframeworks.com for more information.
Posted in Software Piracy Tags: Complete, development, Internet, platform, saas, Service, Wolf Comments OffA Three Step Approach To An Effective Saas Environment
Continued economic pressures are persuading enterprises to choose purpose built solutions. This is true for small to medium sized businesses that operate on razor thin margins as compared to their larger counterparts. Amidst such a scenario, SaaS providers are coming up with a bevy of wares geared towards customers looking for ready to go preconfigured solutions that can reduce impact on capital budgets. Instead of buying software and paying for troubleshooting and upgrades, the user pays for software incrementally, based on the actual usage levels. However, SaaS models differ fundamentally from traditional enterprise application delivery. To successfully implement your SaaS environment, you must evaluate every facet of your SaaS enablement program. Following are the three most significant components of a successful SaaS Enablement Program: SaaS Analysis Tool: This is the first phase of your SaaS enablement program wherein the vendor’s business consultants accumulate extensive information about your product line as well as your SaaS requirements. The data helps them in conducting an operational analysis and develop an effective business model required to successfully deliver best of breed SaaS solutions. SaaS Enablement Consulting: The second phase of the program takes you through a detailed assessment process resulting in an effective roadmap, followed by formal presentation of recommendations to help you make the most of your mission critical software, improve time to market, and reduce your total cost of ownership. It will also give you a clear understanding of the key areas like the kind of technology to be used for your SaaS solutions. It would also be helpful to engage in a more thorough discussion of Application Architecture, Platform Scalability, Data and Security Needs. SaaS Test Environment: Finally yet importantly, you can test your migration strategy to SaaS delivery. Accordingly, you can ask the vendor to make changes, if required. Deciding what SaaS services, products and features you need can be highly useful for you to leverage the maximum benefits of your SaaS Enablement Program. And of course! It’s worth your money too. Once you agree upon the kind of services offered, other things to discuss are Licensing Requirements, Compliancy Requirements, Security Management, SLA etc. The SaaS enablement program developed by NaviSite meets all your business needs, by providing a comprehensive range of SaaS services supported by cutting edge hardware, software and infrastructure technologies. Whether you are an established SaaS provider, a new ISV, or an enterprise shifting to a SaaS model, NaviSite can support all your SaaS initiatives efficiently and effectively. Learn more about SaaS Services offered by NaviSite at http://www.navisite.com/saas-services/
Software as a Service (saas) Explained
Software as a Service (SaaS) is method of using the software by businesses and interested parties where the software is hosted by the vendor of the software and is delivered to the customers via a web browser on Internet. The same piece of code is used by hundreds of users distributed globally and is hosted in a central location by the vendor. There are many names for this like “on-demand”, “remotely-hosted” and “Application service providers (ASP)”. The customer who is using this service pays the vendor or host of the software on per-use basis. There is lot of hype about SaaS in the market about its advantages and disadvantages from customer’s point of view. In this article I explain this in detail about SaaS so that you will be better informed to take a decision about SaaS. Potential: The concept Software as a Service was first circled in the late 1990’s and since then it has gained much importance and acceptance among the users. Now, it looks like every major software company is providing such service in one form or another like antivirus software which is installed on the user’s pc and gets updated via web, or any software for that matter. According to Gartner 30 percent of New customer service and support application investments will be through SaaS model by 2012. It also predicts that all forms of SaaS-delivered customer service applications in the call center will grow by more than 20 percent per year through 2012. This shows the potential the SaaS business model has and its acceptance by the users. There is wide variety of companies involved in the SaaS business model. Although it is in existence since fairly good amount of time, it is still evolving and companies are still struggling a bit to push it into mainstream. One of the successful companies based on this model is Salesforce.com providing the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software services via the Internet. Features: 1. No infrastructure costs: The first and foremost advantage of this model is someone hosting your software and you are saving on the upfront license and ongoing maintenance fees to run it on your own infrastructure. This is the primary reason for many companies to shift to this service.2. No Human capital:Less human resources are needed to maintain the software running and thus saving costs. This also helps SaaS companies as they need to use fewer resources for large number of customers as the servers are located in a central location.3. No maintainance headache and thus less risky: It is the responsibility of the vendor or service provider to keep the software and servers running it up-to-date with patches and thus provide maximum uptime and fewer overheads for the customers using the services.4. Low cost of implementation: There is a little bit of disagreement over this among the users, as even though it looks low cost option, it may be expensive over time as you will pay for the service on an on-going basis. This is good for companies offering this kind of service as revenues are predictable and more sustained for long term thus helping them in better forecasting, planning and positioning themselves in the market.5 Less customization: Customers using this service has less scope for customizations as they need to use the same code base used by multiple other users. Even though the companies offering these services boasts that they are highly customizable for each user according to their needs, it is not generally done in practice from my experiences.6. Security: I have seen there are some apprehensions among customers in terms of security for their data and systems; particularly if there business-critical applications are hosted and maintained by external companies. In such case, one can avail these services for less business-critical tasks such as partner management software, Human resources management, etc.7. Integration and Scalability:Often it is found that these services are not easy to integrate with other applications in the enterprise. There needs to be lot of work done to integrate with other applications as each application has own set of standards and business processes. It is found that SaaS offerings are much scalable as corporations can increase the system resources based on the need of the hour and depending upon the business plans. This will help the companies to reduce on the infrastructure costs for planned for the future. Also it must be noted that sometimes as these services are not customized for each user, they need to be customized seperately to integrate it with other applications of the company and it is not a simple process. Therefore, these services are best suited for Small and Medium businesses (SMB) rather than big corporations. The Software as a Service is available in many areas of a business like HR management, accounting, legal services, partner management, Customer Relationship management, Email, IT security and content management services. There are number of companies offering the Software as a Service today. Some of them are Salesforce.com, Oracle, Microsoft, WebEx, Citrix, SAP,GoToMeeting. Future of SaaS: It is exciting to see the future of the SaaS business model. Already there are signs of it becoming more and more popular as the number of companies which are providing the offerings based on it and number of customers signing up for these applications are increasing day-by-day, especially in the global economic slow down. As witnessed recently more number of big corporations are joining this party as the traditional way of using the software is becoming more of burden for customers.
SaaS – Approaches to Software as a Service
Software as a service (SaaS) is a software application delivery model where the vendor develops as well as operates the software application for use by its customers via the internet. Although SaaS is not limited to business applications only, it is typically considered an economical way for businesses to gain the same benefits of commercially licensed, internally operated software, without taking on the associated complexity and high initial cost that would normally go with purchasing software. The SaaS model is well suited to many types of software. This is important since most customers may have little interest or capability in software operation, but do have considerable computing requirements. For example some applications such as Customer Relations Management, Accounting and Email, Video Conferencing as well as Human Resources are just a tip of the iceberg when looking at the original markets showing success in the SaaS field. Although there were earlier applications delivered over the internet, the distinction between SaaS and those earlier applications is that SaaS solutions were developed exclusively to power web technologies such as the browser. The term “SaaS” was coined by John Koenig for the SDForum Software as a Service Conference in March of 2005 and has become the industry adopted reference term, generally replacing the earlier terms “On-Demand” and “ASP” (Application Service Provider). SaaS – Reasons to adopt Software as a Service For the reason that many companies prefer to keep their information technology operations under internal control, SaaS was originally considered a potential security and operational risk. Nonetheless, the professionals operating SaaS applications may have much better security and redundancy tools available to them, and therefore in many cases the level of service may be of better-quality. In the past years SaaS vendors have made great progress, with both customization and publication of their programming interfaces. The availability of open source applications, inexpensive hardware and low cost bandwidth combine to offer convincing economic reasons for businesses to operate their own software applications, particularly as open source solutions have greatly improved in quality and much simpler to install. Since software is sold and downloadable from the Internet at the touch of a button, there are vendors who offer sophisticated code protection, packaging, licensing and pricing functionality for software companies. This enables more efficient software distribution and protection while lowering overhead for developers. To learn more about SaaS take a look at www.SecureLM.net
Do You Own Your SaaS Website? Part 1: 5 Copyright Myths Debunked
Copyright © 2009 Chip Cooper Your SaaS website represents an important investment. It may produce income for you – maybe even a lot of income… either now or in the future. What if someone made you an offer to buy your website – an offer you can’t refuse? Do you really own your website and all of its components? Could you transfer clear ownership to the buyer? Or does the deal fall through because, upon close examination, you really don’t own it – or key parts of it? Your Website’s Components If you want to analyze the ownership of your SaaS website, you need to think in terms of its component parts. These include: * web pages – these are the pages that you navigate on your site; * content – the text, images, audio, and video that you integrate into your web pages; * background software – software that runs in the background that provides functionality to your web pages, such as the software that generates your online service, shopping cart software, affiliate tracking software, toolbars for maneuvering between pages, search engines, Java applets, and ActiveX controls; and * opt-in and customer lists. Except for your opt-in and customer lists, copyright plays a significant role in the ownership all of these components – so, it’s a good place to start. In simple terms, copyright ownership is really important because the copyright owner controls the exclusive right to copy, modify, distribute, and display the works of authorship that are embodied in your website. Perhaps the best way to approach copyright ownership as it relates to your website is to debunk some of the myths that are floating around. Myth No. 1: To Be a Copyright Owner, You Must Register With The Copyright Office Not true. How copyrights are created is really simple, and that’s why it’s so often misunderstood. The Copyright Act states that a work is “created” when it is fixed in a tangible medium of expression. This means that a copyrightable work of authorship is created when pen hits paper, or keystrokes are recorded into the RAM of a computer. Creation of copyrights happens automatically when an original work of authorship is fixed; no registration or other act is required. You might think of this as the “Rule of Automatic Copyright”. What does this mean to you? The author of a copyrightable work is the copyright owner. And since ownership happens automatically, if the work is not registered, there is no paper trail stating who the author is. This fact has significant ramifications if you need permission from the copyright owner. Myth No. 2: I Paid My Website Developer To Develop My Site, Therefore I Own It Not true in most cases. The general rule is that the creator of the original expression in your website is the author and copyright owner. An exception to the general rule lies with the “work made for hire” rules which come into play when a person hires another to create a copyrightable work of authorship. This is the situation that is most common with website development. Facts are critical regarding the operation of the “work made for hire” rules. The key determination is the status of the website developer — was the developer your regular employee, or was the developer a contractor? In most cases, the developer is a contractor. The “work made for hire” rules are quite different depending on the status of the developer as employee or contractor, as follows: * if the developer is an employee acting within the scope of employment, the hiring party (you) will be deemed to be the author and copyright owner of the work product; but * if the developer is a contractor, then the contractor will be deemed to be the author and copyright owner unless there is a written agreement, signed by the contractor, specifying that the work is a “work made for hire”. What does this mean to you? Typically, the developer is a contractor. For this reason, to be the author and copyright owner of your website, you must have a written agreement, signed by the developer that specifies that the work product is a “work made for hire”. Failing any of these requirements, the developer will be the author and copyright owner of the work product (i.e. your website). Myth No. 3: It’s OK to Use Materials I Copy Off The Web Because They’re In The Public Domain Not true. The Internet is a public medium, but materials published on the Internet are not necessarily in the public domain. Under the Rule of Automatic Copyright, the author of any original work of authorship will be the copyright owner. The author-owner has the exclusive right to control the copying, modification, distribution, and public display of the work. Anyone who exercises any of these exclusive rights without permission (i.e. a license) from the copyright owner, is liable for copyright infringement. Public domain works are not subject to copyright. These include works for which copyright protection has expired. What does this mean to you? Copyrights for most works published on the Web are owned by someone. You might be tempted to grab text or graphics on another site for use on your own site, but you’ll need permission (i.e. a license) from the copyright owner to use these materials, else you’ll be an infringer. Myth No. 4: It’s OK to Use Anything That Doesn’t Have a Copyright Notice. Not true in most cases. A copyright notice is not required for works created and published since 1978. What does this mean to you? For post-1978 published works, you must have permission from the copyright owner to use the work. Myth No. 5: It’s OK to Use Anything If I Give the Author Credit or Include The Author’s Copyright Notice Not true. In the academic world, if you use someone else’s ideas, you must give credit, usually in the form of a footnote. In the commercial world, the issue is not whether you give credit or provide the owner’s copyright notice; rather, it’s whether you have permission (i.e. a license) to use. What does this mean to you? If you use someone else’s copyrighted work, get permission first. Sometimes permission is difficult to obtain because as pointed out in Myth No. 1, if the work is not registered, there is no paper trail stating the identity of the copyright owner. Conclusion Ownership of your SaaS website is relatively complex – you must consider all of the components of your site and determine ownership for each separately. Copyright is the fundamental intellectual property protection scheme for website components. Understanding the difference between copyright facts and myths is critical to understanding who owns these components.
SaaS is More Than a Software License Model
By: Cris Wendt Many, if not most Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings are typically offered using a named-user license metric and a subscription license model. Salesforce.com is the most popular example of this approach.
Posted in Software Piracy Tags: companies, concurrent-user, customers, perception, reduces-upfront, saas, train, Widespread Comments OffeCommerce SaaS Platforms, 10 Provider Questions
This article provides a checklist for retailers who are evaluating SaaS based eCommerce solutions as part of their re-platforming project. These are the characteristics of a true software-as-a-service (SaaS) eCommerce provider. The platform decision is arguably the most important, complex, and costly part of a retailers 3-5 year investment cycle. It is a decision that is often put off or easily put on hold due to other priorities or the risks involved. And it is a decision that very few online retailers are qualified to make on their own since it has such broad implications across technology, marketing, operations, and sales. What is SaaS?A logical place to start. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is a delivery model alternative for software companies to license their software “on-demand”, typically delivered over the Internet using standard web protocols. In most cases, the SaaS provider has software running their own servers in a data center they manage, along with all aspects of the application. This is opposed to licensing software “off-the-shelf”. eCommerce SaaS Providers are companies that deliver their eCommerce software platform on their proprietary infrastructure. True SaaS eCommerce providers can offer a much higher level of service overall to retailers over in-house or third party hosted models. The “Service” in SaaSBeyond the software delivery side of SaaS, and more important for retailers to understand, is the provider’s ability to actually provide an ongoing service. The SaaS provider is not coming in, building out a website, charging licensing fees and leaving. A SaaS provider makes their money over a 3-5 year period and is accountable for keeping the website online and fast every second of every minute. A tall order for just plain old software companies and is the fundamental difference with SaaS providers over custom eCommerce solutions or third party hosted systems. 1. Redundant Server InfrastructureTrue eCommerce SaaS providers have redundant server farms with no single points of failure. The SaaS platform will offer load balancing, clustering, and automatic fail over for all server tiers. In all likelihood the SaaS platform will house more than one website and Client (called a multi-tenant architecture) – this is not a problem providing they can guarantee performance, security, and availability in a Service Level Agreement. Beware: We often hear of eCommerce Systems Integrators proposing one or two servers as “ongoing hosting” instead of proposing robust, high-availability architectures. 2. New Features and Upgrades IncludedWe are not talking about “18% per year maintenance”. True eCommerce SaaS providers will deliver several releases per year of new platform features requested by their Clients. These features will be rolled into the software code base and seamlessly released to all Clients avoiding costly “customization fees”. Beware: Software License Maintenance is often used as a placeholder during the sales process for new features, support, service, or other. 3. Service Level Agreement (SLA) IncludedTrue eCommerce SaaS providers have a “service culture”. They are used to earning their money over a 3-5 year period of time vs. one-time upfront fees. As a result, they will guarantee Uptime, Performance, Transaction Integrity, and the Support Process in an SLA with the retailer. These SLAs should provide clear monthly reports on the status and a penalty structure for not meeting the targets. Beware: Companies may try to use the 3rd party hosting company’s SLA in place of an agreement with the solution provider. 4. PCI SecurityPayment Card Industry compliance is something that all online retailers must understand and be able to demonstrate. True eCommerce SaaS providers will maintain PCI-DSS compliance and provide controls within their platforms to make compliance easier for the merchant. Beware: Providers should guarantee they will maintain PCI compliance in their Master Services Agreement. 5. eCommerce Account ManagementOutside of 24×7 support, true eCommerce SaaS providers will offer a dedicated account management resource to their Clients. This person is named on their account and is available as a single point of contact and is accountable for customer satisfaction at no extra cost. Beware: It is important the person assigned to your account is not motivated by selling more services. 6. Platform ConfigurationTrue eCommerce SaaS platforms offer rich features that can be turned on or off (configurable) as part of the implementation and by the merchant on-demand. This includes the ability for complex merchandising, search, promotions, shipping, checkout, payment, and other tools to be available to the Client as needed at no extra charge. Beware: Many eCommerce providers will build a custom platform and website that offers limited configurable parameters after it’s delivered. 7. Rapid DeploymentSince a true eCommerce SaaS provider already has existing infrastructure and software running live, this drastically reduces project times and allows the retailer (and the provider) to focus on the most strategic parts of a project (User Experience and Integration). Beware: To reduce project risk, retailers must provide more time for testing (technology, procedures, etc.) for in-house or third party hosted solutions than with SaaS solutions. 8. NOC Monitoring and PerformanceTrue eCommerce SaaS platforms have a software and hardware architecture that is scalable, allowing for quick provisioning of additional capacity to handle peak demands. To stay on top of capacity, SaaS providers are continuously monitoring eCommerce websites using global availability and performance monitoring tools (Gomez, Keynote, Uptrends) and have a Network Operations Center (NOC) that can proactively stay ahead of load issues. Beware: Many IT departments are just not staffed to handle 24x7x365 monitoring or have the resources to properly architect a scalable solution. 9. Rental License vs. One-Time Lump SumSince SaaS providers license their eCommerce platforms “on-demand” vs. lump sum licensing, most provide a monthly based fee to “rent” the license. SaaS licensing models vary, some which are based on transactions, commissions, users, products, bandwidth or flat monthly fees. In almost every case, the ongoing monthly fees with a SaaS provider will be higher but the one-time fees will be significantly lower (than a licensed / hosted or custom build hosted). Typically the monthly fee is a blend of License and Delivery of the service. Beware: The monthly fee for SaaS providers is not “hosting”, it is a mix of licensing and service delivery (as defined in the plan and SLA). Go back to checklist #1, the managed hosting fees alone for a redundant setup will make the SaaS fees very reasonable. 10. Disaster Recovery – Business ContinuityAs a provider of business critical services to online retailers, true eCommerce SaaS providers will maintain a full disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity plan (BCP). This will protect the merchant by reducing possible downtime and data loss caused by a disaster in the data center. Beware: Backups can be part of a DR strategy, but are not the plan alone. It is critical that the platform provider has a replicated environment to recover service if needed.
Software as a Service (saas) – Change is Imminent
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is receiving a lot of attention in analysts’ briefings and technology trade press articles. In the past year, SaaS has emerged from its pioneering group of start-ups and medium-sized vendors to be embraced, albeit awkwardly, by software giants including Oracle and SAP. Much of the attention SaaS has garnered in recent months has focused on the new business model that on-demand software enables. However, some veteran technologists who’ve adopted SaaS for their own livelihood, and analysts as well, say that the phenomenon might well be the catalyst for a far wider-ranging discussion on software development for the next generation. The highly interactive Web 2.0 model and iterative development have dovetailed to force even the most traditional programmers to at least consider the end of lengthy development cycles. Software as a Service develpment companies are now perfectly positioned to provide all business software applications delivered via the clooud – no software to download, no risk of piracy, and no risk of hard drive failures. Technology and culture driving business One major technological factor in advancing the new development models might be the rise of service-oriented architecture (SOA) and Web services standards. The ASP model, championed in the late 1990s and early years of this decade, never took off because its one-to-one architecture was inherently difficult to scale. SaaS technology, however, takes advantage of a one-to-many SOA-enabled architecture that can offer customized services to different customers, and even different branches of the same enterprise. One example is a customer relationship management application offered on a SaaS basis by LiveCRM LiveCRM enables companies to drive sales productivity, increase visibility, and expand revenues with an affordable, easy-to-deploy service that delivers success to companies of all sizes. The beauty of a product like LiveCRM lies in its ability to adapt to different business practices and provide a unique customised solution to each without rebuilding the interface each time – This is where SaaS becomes so powerful. Deploying a SaaS application means a major culture change within the organisation. The change comes not just in how things are seen and reported on through aq software product, but also how the product itself is used. Many large organisations (predominantly the older ones) have spent a significant amount on training personnel and getting them used to the current systems and software products used. In my experience, many of these personnel are not as skilled as some of the younger counterparts which presents a very steep learning curve for businesses. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. SaaS can be deployed in bite sizes; module by module and as people get more used to it, a full scale deployment can be considered. Also, a carefully managed implementation including change management, workshops and solution recipes are also a great way to minimise this learning curve. So a change in technology, in this case, also demands a change in culture. But a change in culture is already happening The technological advancements underpinning the new methodologies are being complemented by a new “ground up” ethos that will force academic program leaders and enterprise strategists to retool their own thinking. In fact, the shift is a generational shift. Just as the young technologists of the late 1980s created both ad hoc and formal transitions of enterprise data from mainframes to PCs and client-server architectures, the next-gen architectures of on-demand software are being pioneered by those who have grown up working with instantly available Web-based applications. From an executive perspective, SaaS is less about how software is going on-demand, and more about how the generation of users who have grown up with the Web as a technology are coming into the workforce. And this crowd expects the tools that allow things they’re used to—collaboration, immediate ubiquitous access, and so on—SaaS will make sure they get what they want. Web 2.0 and socially-oriented computing, as most people think of it, is about Facebook and mashups and things like that. While that’s a big component of the overall discussion, what I try to do is take those concepts and say, ‘How do I take those ideas, which are incubated in the Internet kiddies’ domain, and put that in real business terms—enterprise quality of service, or levels of security, compliance, audit, control and so forth—that are enterprise-worthy or government-worthy, and still keep all the beauty and openness and free-flowing nature of the Web 2.0 world? Uneasy transition Gartner’s Norton says the transition to SaaS-based architectures is still in its early phase. “By 2010, 15 percent of large companies will start projects replacing their ERP backbone with a SaaS offering,” he says. “A little later, Tier 1 consultancies will offer SaaS services, and 30 to 40 percent of vendors offering SaaS service by 2012.” Norton estimates about half of the Web 2.0 projects visible to end users are still developed using noniterative development methods, but he sees that changing. However, Norton says he has seen the promise of some flexible projects run aground just as they might become more useful in a cross-enterprise manner, because corporate executives lose their nerve and fall back on old development methods as projects get larger. “They don’t know what they’ve got, and it’s easier to say, ‘If we put the standard controls in place, we can control this beast.’ They only have the illusion of control.” In all but the most daring organizations, it will take time to realize that the illusion of control might best be modified in favor of a collaborative, nonhierarchical approach. Vandervoort says the next generation of developers is coming out of universities well-informed of these technologies, but are receiving little to no formal training in how to use them in enterprise settings. “The shift that has to occur, both in academic training and in enterprise thinking, is to move away from the idea that IT builds the answer for the user,” he says. He sees Web 2.0 enabling IT to shift its thinking toward enabling users to build their own solutions. In doing that, he says users will find their own answer via the path of least resistance, or POLR. What do you think?
Software At A Service (Saas) Test Management
SAAS as the name suggests is the software licensing model that allows a user to use applications on demand. The applications may be downloadable to the local machine or they could be accessed remotely. In the ever growing software industry software testing has become indispensable. Test management tools are the one that manage software testing. They are the software that manages tests as per predefined specifications. SAAS is such software as a service used for Test Management. The availability of the application depends upon its use or on the expiration of contract. SAAS is thus an End to End Test Management Solution to cover all the QA Processes. It manages all the Requirements, Tests, Issues and Reporting as one single software testing solution and saves time and money by integrating various software testing software. Coordination and Visibility are main requirements of QA and Testing. SAAS is a QA Management Software that allows the user to choose what to test, report issues and track them as well. In today’s highly competitive environment software companies aims at the best quality software. Due to ever growing competition and focus in cost effective measures of software testing, companies are looking out for a software management tool that is cost effective and provides tools and processes that enables testers to develop a more holistic approach towards testing. The testing needs ad requirements differ from individual to individual. By selecting the most appropriate tool for Software Testing companies can ensure that the product is tested thoroughly before it is launched in the market. Each and every tool differs in its capabilities and limitations to test the software’s. SAAS helps the companies to choose the best possible tools as per their requirements to achieve high standards of quality in their products. SAAS provides multiple benefits to the end user. Some of them are as follows: It provides a cost effective solution, by giving an option of choosing the most appropriate tool, as per the requirement. This prevents the cost of procuring the software individually. The initial cost for acquiring and deploying SAAS is thus much lower. Any upgrade of Soft wares, are the responsibility of SAAS and thus the end user is always at a benefit of using latest version of the software. Also since SAAS Test Management applications are already available over internet, it can be easily adopted by the user with minimal investment of time and effort and it does not have any additional cost of implementation of licensed software. The end user can always choose the software according to the requirements and thus can customize the Testing according to its requirement. It gives the user more flexibility for testing the software. SAAS once procured can be used at any location as per the end users preference, as it is hosted by web. So the user can use the application all across the globe. It’s the responsibility of the service provider or vendor for the full maintenance of applications, which allows the user to focus entirely improving the quality of the product by testing it to the highest levels.
The best choice between Self-hosted or Remote Hosted (SaaS) Software Solutions
If you are planning to invest and introduce a new Recruitment Process Automation system, it is not uncommon for you to get hassled about comparing features, advantages, quality, benefits, and prices. Immaterial of selection, your new software will play a major role in the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and your Return on Investment (ROI). How would you decide on the best recruitment software solution for your organization? In this article we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of two renowned software deployment methods, which will assist you in taking the right decision on this critical subject. Self-hosting Software Deployment: Self-hosting deployment is also known as Enterprise software deployment. This method is the most traditional method of using a recruitment or staffing software within an organization. What does Enterprise deployment mean? You purchase the software as a licensed product Purchase and own all of the hardware Servers Power systems Back up systems Communications All other infrastructure, at your location All maintenance of the hardware, software and infrastructure is totally your responsibility including the hiring of IT staff. You will also need to pay for software maintenance, support and services to your vendor. This amounts to about 20% of the software license cost, per year. The advantages of the ownership of the software license lets you have complete control over your data and its management. Most importantly, the system is fully secure and you can be sure that they system will not be accessed by outsiders. The only disadvantage with Enterprise software deployment is the high costs, and the TCO for this application is higher than any other application. Software as a Service (SaaS) Software Deployment: Also called – as mentioned in the title, Remote Hosted or more commonly known as On-Demand software. This is a subscription based model; you need to subscribe to the recruiting software, which is on servers owned and operated by your vendor at their location, and not at yours. You use the software over an Internet connection using a Web Browser or Smart Client, and your vendor is responsible for all ongoing hardware and software maintenance. The advantages are it has a low cost of entry and a lower total cost of ownership (TCO). There is also a vested vendor interest – in case of mismanagement in the application, the vendor will loose a client. Our choice for a suitable software solution is eConn Resume Parser which is a Self-hosting or Enterprise Software deployment. It provides you with the facility to process online resumes by extracting the required data in an organized and logical manner. The added advantages are that it helps you get support on: Enterprise portals E-learning solutions Enterprise application integration tools SOA software Document management systems Project management software The advantages with Resume Parser as a self-hosted software solution are far more useful and safer than all other software solutions, SaaS software deployments. Although SaaS software solutions are growing to be very popular, its disadvantages are equally high as well. Some organizations find it difficult to delegate control or trust third parties to manage their applications and data. Records and reports show that many hackers have had access to important databases using SaaS software solutions.
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