Thu, July 02, 2009 — Computerworld — The computing world has seen various technology buzzwords come and go; while some gained prevalence and wide adoption, others eventually died somewhat silent deaths. A few years back, we began to hear about one such buzzword--software as a service (SaaS, which also sometimes went by the term cloud computing, causing confusion for some) and, at that time, the concept of on-demand, subscription-based software may have seemed "strange" or "uncomfortable" to some.

Software as a Service (SaaS) Definition and Solutions

Today, however, SaaS may have slowly but surely penetrated the IT world, as it appears to have surpassed the buzzword stage and is gradually becoming a mainstream concept. According to Springboard Research, the SaaS market in APAC is experiencing "tremendous growth" and, in fact, is expected to grow to approximately $1.16 billion by 2010, at a compound annual growth rate of 66%.

For its part, Gartner last year predicted that SaaS would become 25% of the overall software market by 2011. The research firm forecasts worldwide enterprise application SaaS revenue to reach $11.5 billion by 2011 and, while the CAGR varied between different types of services, the overall CAGR is touted at 26.5%.

NOT A FAD

Salesforce.com defines SaaS as cloud computing--essentially as the next generation of applications. One of the SaaS pioneers, Salesforce.com believes the shift to cloud computing is happening right now and is gaining speed. "Companies want solutions that are low cost, low risk, and that work and given the economy, this cloud computing trend couldn't have come at a better time," says the SaaS provider.

"Cloud computing is not a fad, but is a permanent change in the model that people expect of how they'll use the power of computing and collaboration. Growing bandwidth, rising technology complexity, and higher expectations for business performance are trends that will never reverse--and these are the enablers and the drivers of the mass migration into the cloud," says Salesforce.com.

Also a SaaS provider, IT giant HP sees SaaS emerging as a "strategic option" for enterprises as it allows businesses to channel its resources to take on more strategic initiatives that provide value to the business and leave the IT operations to the experienced vendors. "SaaS is definitely changing the software business landscape, large enterprises and SMBs alike are embracing SaaS across the region for its ability to make organizations more competitive and agile. The promising adoption and growth certainly attest to the fact that SaaS is beyond trend and is integral and strategic to the growth of the business," says Vinita Ananth, director, software-as-a-service, HP software and solutions, Asia Pacific & Japan.