What is SaaS?
SaaS (software as a service) is a means of providing individuals and companies software without them needing to buy the software outright. Instead, the software is “subscribed to” for a monthly, bi-yearly, or yearly fee. Using software as a service makes it much more affordable for clients to solve their needs by subscribing to services that they need at that time. Whereas buying and storing software in-house would be much more costly and time-consuming. SaaS removes the need to install, maintain, and support an IT infrastructure at your home or place of business. Unknowingly, everyday people and businesses use a plethora of SaaS applications if they use services connected through the internet.
SaaS Examples
Microsoft Office – This is perhaps the biggest example of a company taking a product and making it available as a SaaS. In the past, Microsoft offered Microsoft Office for purchase in the form of a CD. Once bought, the buyer would insert and download the software from the CD and store it on their hard drive. Now, Microsoft discontinued selling MS Office CDs and strictly makes the product available for download by hosting the software on its servers. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars for the software, users can now pay a low priced subscription for the product. DropBox – The most popular SaaS service in the world. With a simple internet connection through a web browser, users can store and access their files, photos, and videos on DropBox’s server. This service allows users to free space on their hardware device and protects their information if they were to lose their device.
PaaS vs. SaaS
A PaaS (a platform as a service) is used by developers to create a SaaS (software as a service). A PaaS is typically a web-based application made available over the internet that web developers can use to work on their code. The biggest example of a PaaS would be the shared hosting plan offered by a hosting company such as GoDaddy or HostGator. The shared hosting (PaaS) would then be used to host the user’s website where they could then offer their software (SaaS) to customers.