|
• Network-based access to, and management of, commercially available software.
• Activities that are managed from central locations rather than at each customer's site, enabling customers to access applications remotely via the Web.
• Application delivery is closer to a one-to-many model to comprise of architecture, pricing, technical support and partnership.
There are two types of SaaS providers. The first has often been referred to as an Application Service Provider (ASP) wherein a customer, primarily a software company, purchases and brings to a hosting company, a copy of software.
The second type of SaaS provider offers what is often called Software On-Demand. This is where a company develops and hosts a suite of software applications to be used by multiple end-users or clients.
One of the biggest success stories of SaaS and particularly on-demand software provider is salesforce.com, a provider of CRM solutions on the web, founded by Marc Benioff, a champion of SaaS delivery model. Today, SaaS is emerging as a preferred option for most software companies due to the inherent benefits that the model provides. Oracle, SAP, Microsoft and many others have been aligning a considerable portion of their business to leverage the benefits.
iEmployee, an On-Demand HRMS (Human Resource Management Systems) software provider in the US of A started with a strong service delivery vision to corporate customers and is today amongst the top 10 HRMS provider in the US of A.
The focus in SaaS is more on what the customer wants rather than what the vendor could give, as was the case in an ASP.
|