Saas - what is it? Software as a Service - Software as a Service

Many Russian enterprises have implemented SaaS solutions. Their involvement is often due to the desire of businesses to increase the usability of certain applications, to ensure the necessary dynamics of production, as well as to save money. How much are these expectations of entrepreneurs justified? What is the specificity of SaaS solutions?

What is SaaS?

The acronym SaaS is Software as a Service, that is, "software as a service". This scheme assumes that the user gets the software, whose functions are accessible through the web interface, while the main program part of the application is on the developer server.

The SaaS model is a kind of cloud technology, perhaps one of the most popular. Now this scheme of interaction between the software vendor and the user is no longer considered exotic, but in general it can be called quite new for the global and Russian IT market.

Advantages of SaaS

Having determined the meaning of the SaaS term, what it is, let us turn to the advantages of the corresponding software distribution scheme.

Its main feature is that the user does not need to install the program on his computer. Also, he does not need to worry that he will have the latest version of the application - his developer will always update the necessary files in a timely manner.

What is very important for many users - reference materials accompanying the appropriate type of solution, as a rule, the most relevant. While for "desktop" versions of the software, user manuals may become obsolete over time.

Reliability

SaaS products are in many cases more reliable than solutions that are installed on a computer. This is primarily due to the fact that most of the hardware functions on the vendor servers are duplicated.

That is, if a hard disk fails on the supplier's side, you can be sure that the important information has already registered with the backup media belonging to the counterparty.

Versatility

Another important advantage that causes SaaS-solutions - the user can work with the right interfaces from any computer - the main thing is that the Internet at an affordable rate was available. Many of the SaaS vendors adapt the interfaces of the corresponding software not only to use on a conventional computer, but also to the specifics of mobile devices - smartphones, tablets.

Among the undeniable advantages of programs in the SaaS format is the ability to simultaneously use the same interface by several users. For example, you can collectively edit a document. Even if several people gather for a computer on which there is a "box" program, effective work will most likely fail.

Economic benefit

In many cases, SaaS-programs are cheaper than "boxed" software versions. This is due to many factors: in particular, the lack of costs for the distribution of disks. In addition, quotations from SaaS-program providers are very often tied to some specific functions of the application: the user, thus, can not buy those features of software that he does not intend to use. At the same time, high-quality technical support for users, as a rule, is included in the subscription for cloud applications in the SaaS model. The suppliers of the type of solutions considered do not usually save on the quality of client services.

SaaS-service in many cases is much easier to implement in production than "desktop" applications. Traditional software formats may require upgrading the hardware of corporate computers. Cloud solutions, as a rule, are not too demanding on the performance of PC hardware components.

Disadvantages of SaaS

We learned about the essence of the SaaS concept, what it is, what are its main advantages. Consider now also the disadvantages of the appropriate type of cloud platforms. They are few, but they should be known.

The most obvious drawback of cloud software in general and SaaS in particular is that between the software vendor and its user often transmit some confidential data, and not every enterprise security system guarantees their protection from interception by hackers. Of course, modern computer encryption technologies and access rights checks make it possible to build very serious barriers to destructive subjects. But they do not always help out.

Some of the most important types of software are completely inappropriate to provide in a cloud format. But here we can note the lack of universality, not so much of these or those decisions, as of the concept as a whole. For example, an antivirus in SaaS format can not be as effective as working on a traditional scheme - since the corresponding type of programs must have full access to RAM and hard disks of the computer. Through the browser, the corresponding function is not easy to implement.

At the same time, some basic functions of anti-virus software, for example, scan of individual files for infection, many manufacturers of the corresponding type of programs are ready to provide users with SaaS-platforms. And these decisions are sufficiently effective.

Note that to use the cloud infrastructure, the enterprise, one way or another, will need to access the Internet. And if for some reason there will be a failure at the provider, then if the production processes are too heavily dependent on SaaS-services, the company may suffer significant losses. But this, rather, is not so much a lack of concept as a distinctive specificity of its functioning. If the enterprise has a SaaS platform as a key component of the digital infrastructure, then management needs to seriously work to diversify the access channels to the Internet.

Prospects for SaaS

What are the prospects for further development of the SaaS solutions market? The analysts' assessments on this score are very different. But on the whole, experts are very positive about the growth in the demand for relevant computer technologies. Experts especially see perspective use of cloud concepts in the sphere of small and medium business. This can already be traced to the example of numerous American enterprises that make very active use of relevant decisions.

Concerning the most popular segments of SaaS, the researchers call CRM (client management systems), HRM (HR management), ERP (management of company resources). In Russia, all these computer technologies are familiar to business and are sufficiently actively introduced by enterprises. However, the specificity of the Russian market is that a large percentage of potential consumers of SaaS solutions are conservative. Many customers do not understand what the real benefits of using cloud concepts can be, how this will affect business.

Factors of development of SaaS-technologies

The main factors that will influence the success of SaaS-technologies in Russia:

- the developed legal base (especially regarding the mechanism of responsibility of cloud software vendors to clients for the preservation of confidential data);

- improvement of Internet lines (in many regions, particularly in the Far East, the speed of online channels is much inferior to those in the European part of Russia, therefore many potential users of SaaS solutions simply can not afford to take advantage of the respective products technically);

- the effectiveness of marketing approaches to providers of cloud services (many of the market players are still growing due to the fact that the market segment under consideration is growing, and the demand in some cases significantly exceeds the supply).

An important aspect of the prospects of SaaS services being actively promoted in the Russian Federation is the increase of confidence in IT outsourcers among Russian businesses. The fact is that many enterprises of the Russian Federation are still trying their best to form an internal staff of IT specialists. In the case of the use of "cloud" services, a significant percentage of tasks will have to be outsourced to contractors. Whether enterprises can systematically implement such a reorientation is a big question.

SaaS - for small and medium business

The main consumers of SaaS in the Russian Federation, as well as in the United States, are small and medium-sized enterprises. This is largely due to their philosophy, which is not as conservative as the approaches of many large businesses. Also, small and medium-sized enterprises tend to be very rational in assessing income and expenses, and if they see that the cloud solution is cheaper, then, given the possible risks in the information security area, management is more likely to prefer SaaS.

In addition, many companies, we must admit, because of insufficient finance tend to use pirated or not quite quality free software. SaaS-system can become a way of transition of a firm to licensed software at low costs. Because many companies order cloud software only in order to start using a high-quality legal software, get technical support.

Small and medium enterprises value the mobility and dynamism of business processes. Therefore, many entrepreneurs are impressed by the opportunity to use this or that SaaS-service from any device and from any place - the main thing is that the Internet is accessible at an acceptable rate.

"Cloud" solutions save one of the most valuable resources of an entrepreneur - time. A person does not need to think about how to implement this or that type of software, how and at the expense of what means to hire specialists to install software on "desktops" or servers - the necessary program in most cases is immediately ready for work.

SaaS and similar solutions

Speaking about what are the features of SaaS, what it is, it will also be useful to consider other concepts of interaction between software vendors and users that are very close to the one under consideration. As we noted above, SaaS is a kind of cloud technology. Thus, there are other subspecies, which are more or less similar to SaaS. Let's consider their specificity.

Among the models of interaction between the software developer and the consumer, similar to SaaS, we can distinguish:

- IaaS;

- PaaS.

What are their characteristics?

Specificity of IaaS

IaaS is "infrastructure as a service". In the case of SaaS, the user "leases" from the provider only the interface that is accessed through the browser. This model, in turn, also assumes the provision of the necessary equipment to the customer.

PaaS Features

PaaS is a "platform as a service". Sufficiently close to SaaS, however, involves the use of certain hardware components on the supplier's side - for example, disk or processor resources. Many hosting services are a "platform as a service". That is, the client, if necessary, uses the resources of the servers leased from the hosting provider.

It can be noted that in some cases it is very difficult to draw a clear boundary between IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. There is, relatively speaking, the "polar criterion", which allows you to assign a solution to IaaS - is the presence on the user side of hardware components (for example, cash registers). There is a sign that uniquely characterizes the technology as SaaS - a "clean" web interface, which the customer can access from any computer. PaeS occupies the middle position between the marked concepts. In some cases, it may be closer to IaaS, for example, if it is assumed that the use of certain functions of the "virtual" server will require the availability of special equipment (for example, a laptop with a distribution package for network administration software that the vendor leases). But it is possible that the corresponding service will be closer to SaaS. For example, provided that the bulk of the work of a specialist firm will be carried out online without the use of branded equipment from the supplier.

So, we have studied the specifics of SaaS, what it is. This technology provides businesses and private customers with a wide variety of opportunities to increase efficiency, solve production problems, save money, achieve the desired comfort of using different applications. Programs implemented in the SaaS format are especially in demand by small and medium-sized enterprises. The Russian IT market is characterized by a high potential for increasing demand for the appropriate type of solutions.