Software as a Service

"Companies using SaaS for supply chain report that they typically can get the system operational in under 3 months and achieve ROI in less than a year -- many times faster than with ordinary ‘license and install’ software or homegrown projects."

"The SaaS model is much cheaper for a service company to run, support and maintain so that it can ultimately sell its applications at a fraction of the cost of the ASP model."

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a powerful new business model based on the concept of renting the solution with a multi-year subscription agreement and (usually) providing access to that solution over the Internet from a shared hosting facility. SaaS as a business model delivers substantial benefits over the traditional software license and install model by aligning costs with value received and by alleviating the bottlenecks found in most IT organizations that can hinder the initiation of a new software project.

Also, since a SaaS solution is ‘in production’ at all times, technology providers have perfected and packaged implementation programs to quickly configure and deploy a solution, offering a much faster time-to-benefit than a traditional software implementation. So, for subscribers SaaS offers advanced functionality that can be quickly delivered with an investment profile that is aligned with value received; in summary, more ROI for less risk.

A SaaS business model also benefits the technology provider by creating a more predictable stream of revenue and reducing the number of software configurations that must be supported. This provides for a higher allocation of software development dollars to new value-added features and less in maintenance and configuration management. A ‘virtuous circle’ of investment that delivers more advanced functionality for subscribers and ultimately leads to higher customer satisfaction, a stronger backlog, and even more resources for software development.