It’s pretty easy to overstate the advantages of SaaS, at least when it comes to a comparison of traditional software. I can’t honestly say that every single type of software benefits from it, but the majority – and I’m talking hundreds of thousands of software niches – have been revolutionized by the software as a service revolution.
But, far be it from me to just ask you to accept the fact that the advantages of software as a service exist, let’s actually dig a little deeper and take a look at them in brief. There are still a lot of people who are unsure what the big deal is, or who are afraid of it, and maybe this will clear things up a bit, and maybe help you embrace how beneficial this is.
#1 – Platform Independence
Platform independence is the most obvious feature people will point out, so let’s cover it first. With SaaS designs, the operating system and CPU architecture of whatever your device may be, as well as ‘power capacity’ – are no longer relevant. SaaS is powered by cloud technologies and you have full control over your HTTP protocol or any other media-rich and interactive web form. This means that all of the programming and features that normally must comply with a specific architectural requirement in a traditional design will now be handled by a server; everything is now lightweight, virtualized locally in a browser.
Platform independence opens up the possibility for a number of web-smart devices (such as set top boxes, mobile and tablet devices, and even game consoles) to work perfectly with SaaS programs. It also means that people can work anywhere, from any device (on the platform they prefer), in a team atmosphere.
#2 – Ease of Maintenance and Billing Models
I’m lumping maintenance and billing together because they both highlight one key point; SaaS makes things easy. Ease of maintenance is a big plus. With a traditional software model, updated versions had to be purchased and re-licensed each time, This cost a lot of money and a lot of time. Any intermittent updates or patch problems required technical support and feature upgrades. Maintenance on traditional software was a nightmare, to say the least.
With SaaS, you work on the cloud; so the newest version is ALWAYS the version you access. SaaS requires no huge purchases beyond the standard subscription fees. Any fixes that need to be made are implemented as soon as they are deployed. This means that as a user, fixes are automatic; you stay current on your software versions.
Subscriptions are easier because as soon as you no longer need a SaaS Service, you no longer pay for it. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to license it for your business, and later, no longer use it. You get what you pay for, and pay for what you get.
#3 – Supporting New Niches
People never talk about this SaaS aspect, but I think it’s the most significant of the many advantages SaaS has to offer. Minting millions of discs and charging thousands of dollars to license specific, task oriented software is not practical. SaaS makes the creation of very niche software (of a professional grade) not only practical but cost effective for everyone. This is why so many amazing new start-ups in so many very niche fields are springing up- SaaS is responsible for and making digital business boom.
Software as a service is platform independent, easy to maintain, accessible to new niches and, above all, is cost effective. These are just a few of the advantages of software as a service over classic software. As a company or as a private user, SaaS is the only way to go.