SaaS and Cloud-Based Computing: Updating Software Made Easier - Research Paper

Introduction

The increased use of SaaS goes in hand with the increased use of cloud-based computing. Before the availability of SaaS, organizations that needed to update their computer software had to acquire compact disks that contained the updates. Updating software was a time-consuming practice for large organizations. As time went by, software updates became available for download by the organizations. Thus, organizations could download the software rather than using compact disks. However, the organizations still needed copies of the software to be installed on all gadgets that they needed access to (Choudhary, 2007). The current report will discuss software as a service.

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Customization of SaaS SoftwareWhen the SaaS applications were first introduced, their customization was usually very rare. Different organizations acquired the same solution, and so every organization had to adjust according to the type of solution that they received. Currently, customization of SaaS by users has become very easy. Many consultants have emerged, and they have specialized in the customization of SaaS (Espadas, Molina, Jimenez, Ramirez, & Concha, 2013).

Users can customize the system to change the feel and look of the program. They as well can modify certain areas like the data fields, to alter the data that appears. Also, some business processes can be turned on and off at the user's will. As the market for SaaS matures, software merchants are investing in its development to provide more flexibility and customization for customers.

Safety of Customers DataSome of the users fear that SaaS vendors "own" their data (Godse & Mulik 2009, .p. 157). Before a buyer acquires SaaS from a vendor, he/she is supposed to negotiate a service level agreement. The agreement discusses the terms with the vendor. The service level agreement additionally spells out the limits for critical issues such as security requirements, maintenance schedules and the ownership of data (Espadas, Molina, Jimenez, Ramirez, & Concha, 2013).

Regarding ownership of data, customers should ensure that the SLA indicates that they own their data. Most contracts allow the customers to access their data if the SaaS vendor confirms that the data belongs to the customer. Also, most of the SaaS vendors allow buyers to export and back up their data anytime they wish. Usually, it is scarce for vendors to demand the retention of the buyer's data. In the case that vendors require to retain the customer's data, the customer should not sign the dotted line.

Security is an essential consideration while entrusting someone with your data, particularly for large companies that have large sets of data. However, the increased use of online payrolls and online banking have reduced the tendency of organizations putting their financial data in the cloud. Thus, they have improved the security of the data (Godse & Mulik, 2009).

SaaS allows for data security regardless of whether one is near the server or far from it. SaaS merchants can invest more in security, maintenance and backups of data than the small and medium enterprises. Thus, a web-based system is more secure compared to the on-premise system. Also, most SaaS merchants undergo strict security measures that test the level of security of data (Godse & Mulik 2009).

In the software business, vendors always come and go either through business failure or industry consolidation. However, the data remains to be kept by the user. Most of the SaaS vendors usually prepare the company that hosts their data centre. The prepaid fee is often to safeguard companies and institutions, and, making sure that their data is not lost in any case anything happens to the vendor (Godse & Mulik 2009).

The important thing is for users to ensure that their SLA has a clause stating that they can export their data from their provider. The term should also include the format and how often one should access their data. The SLAs also states that the merchant would help the user in the migration of data at a stipulated fee.

SaaS as an Outsourcing ModelOutsourcing refers to the act of hiring external professional amenities to meet the internal needs of a company. IT outsourcing is the act of using outside specialized agencies to manage, maintain or process internal information and data related services. The practice of IT outsourcing originated from the practice of IT consulting. Over the years, IT outsourcing has grown to various business models, which include staff augmentation, packaged software outsourcing, and captive development.

The fact that organizations are seeking for SaaS services from vendors shows SaaS as an outsourcing model. The main reasons for organizations seeking outsourcing services are because they are cost saving. Every organization seeks for application of IT in its work. IT helps businesses compete favourably with rivals. The cost of maintaining and updating information systems in organizations is high. For a company to remain competitive in the market, it should seek other cheaper forms of IT. Other challenges relating to IT include systems agility, strict security and system integration. To achieve such goals, IT resourcing becomes one alternative (Guo & Ma, 2018).

When companies adopt the SaaS model, they are saved a large number of expenses in IT. Companies that intend to change to SaaS have to check on their current IT investment, which includes software, hardware, IT personnel and networking infrastructure. Nevertheless, it is easier for starting companies to adopt SaaS as they are saved their investment in software, hardware, staff, and complex networking infrastructure (Godse & Mulik, 2009).

Through the selection of SaaS outsourcing approach, a company benefits from its culture and restructure change. However, institutions have to follow certain stages to implement the outsourcing policy. First, the managers of the organization have to work together with the IT experts to set the goals and policies of the SaaS. The second step will be the creation of the mode of SaaS delivery and then look for a right SaaS provider. The third stage will be the negotiation of contract terms with the already identified SaaS provider, while the fourth stage will be the identification of the required service level agreements with the provider. The fifth step is the arrangement and management of the transition in the department of IT. The sixth stage is the assigning of a project supervisor to work with the SaaS provider to maximize the project's value and a good working relationship. The last step will be the evaluation of the outsourcing project, together with measuring the project's performance (Guo & Ma 2018).

References

Aulbach, S., Grust, T., Jacobs, D., Kemper, A., & Rittinger, J. (2008, June). Multi-tenant databases for software as a service: schema-mapping techniques. In Proceedings of the 2008 ACM SIGMOD international conference on Management of data (pp. 1195-1206). ACM

Choudhary, V., (2007, January). Software as a service: Implications for investment in software development. In 2007 40th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS'07) (pp. 209a-209a). IEEE.

Espadas, J., Molina, A., Jimenez, G., Molina, M., Ramirez, R., & Concha, D. (2013). A tenant-based resource allocation model for scaling Software-as-a-Service applications over cloud computing infrastructures. Future Generation Computer Systems, 29(1), 273-286.

Godse, M., & Mulik, S. (2009, September). An approach for selecting software-as-a-service (SaaS) product. In 2009 IEEE International Conference on Cloud Computing (pp. 155-158). IEEE.

Guo, Z., & Ma, D. (2018). A model of competition between perpetual software and software as a service. MIS Quarterly, 42(1), 1. Retrieved from: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sis_research/3744/