The document provides an overview of Software as a Service (SaaS). It discusses how SaaS allows users to access and use cloud-hosted applications through the internet. The document then covers the history of SaaS, from early time-sharing mainframe models to today's internet-based applications. It also describes the architecture of SaaS, including how applications are designed to be multi-tenant and scalable. Financial considerations of SaaS pricing models are outlined, along with both pros and cons of the SaaS model from the perspectives of vendors and users.

1. G.B. Pant University of Agriculture &Technology
College of Technology
A PRESENTATION ON
Software as a Service (SaaS)
BY
MAYANK CHAUDHARI
B. TECH (FINAL YEAR)
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER ENGINEERING
ID: 42026
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2. Contents
Computing today
Introduction to SaaS
Brief History
SaaS Architecture
Financial Consideration
Pros and cons
Conclusion
Q & A
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3. Computing Today
• We are in the era of Cloud Computing!
• Cloud computing stack [1]
➢ Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
➢ Platform as a Service (PaaS)
➢ Software as a Service (SaaS)
➢ Monitoring as a Service (MaaS) - emerging
➢ Communication as a Service (CaaS)
➢ Anything as a Service – emerging
• So many buzz terms...but SaaS is one of the most widely used service model
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4. 4
Fig 1. Basic Cloud Computing Models [2]

5. Introduction to SaaS
Software as a Service (SaaS) is a software distribution model in
which is the service is available to customers over the Internet
and hosted by a service provider or vendors who manage the
infrastructure and platform on which the applications run.
SaaS is sometimes referred to as “on-demand software” and is
usually priced on a pay-per-use basis. [3]
The web as a platform is the center point.
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6. Introduction to SaaS (con’t)
Network-based access to, and management of,
commercially available (i.e., not custom) software .
application delivery that typically is closer to a one-
to-many model than to a one-to-one model,
including architecture, pricing, partnering, and
management characteristics .
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7. History
• In 1960s, IBM and other mainframe providers conducted time-sharing
or utility computing services, offering computer power and database to
banks and large organization.
• In 1990s with the expansion of Internet, Application Service Providers
(ASP) appeared. They provided small businesses with the service of
hosting and managing specialized business application.
• Starting from 2003, the true SaaS became popular due to the
increased speed of internet connections.
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8. Fig.2 SaaS Evolution [4]
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9. Fig.3 SaaS [5]
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10. SaaS Architecture
• Fueled by
➢ Bandwidth technologies
➢ The cost of a PC has been reduced significantly with more powerful
computing but the cost of application software has not followed
➢ Timely and expensive setup and maintenance costs
➢ Licensing issues for business are contributing significantly to the use of
illegal software and piracy.
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Fig. 4 SaaS Architecture [6]

12. High-Level Architecture
• There are three key differentiators that separate a well-designed SaaS
application from a poorly designed one
➢ scalable
➢ multi-tenant-efficient
➢ configurable
• Scaling the application - maximizing concurrency, and using application
resources more efficiently
➢ i.e. optimizing locking duration, statelessness, sharing pooled resources such
as threads and network connections, caching reference data, and partitioning
large databases.
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13. 13
Fig. 5 SaaS Architecture [7]

14. High-Level Architecture (con’t)
• Multi-tenancy – important architectural shift from designing isolated,
single-tenant applications
➢ One application instance must be able to accommodate users from multiple
other companies at the same time
➢ All transparent to any of the users.
➢ This requires an architecture that maximizes the sharing of resources across
tenants
➢ is still able to differentiate data belonging to different customers.
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15. High-Level Architecture (con’t)
• Configurable - a single application instance on a single server has to
accommodate users from several different companies at once
➢ To customize the application for one customer will change the application
for other customers as well.
• Traditionally customizing an application would mean code changes
• Each customer uses metadata to configure the way the application
appears and behaves for its users.
• Customers configuring applications must be simple and easy without
incurring extra development or operation costs
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16. Financial Considerations [8]
• SaaS sales in 2010 reached $10billion
• In 2011, its sales is up 20.7% from 2010
• SaaS revenue will be more than double its 2010 numbers by 2015
and reach a projected $21.3
• Business SaaS is the major market – Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) is the largest market with 18.8% annually growth
worldwide
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17. Pricing [8]
• The initial setup cost for SaaS is typically lower than the equivalent .
• SaaS vendors typically price their applications based on some usage
parameters, such as the number of users using the application
• The relatively low cost for user provisioning (i.e., setting up a new
customer) in a multi-tenant environment enables some SaaS vendors
to offer applications using the freemium model.
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18. SaaS - Pros [9][10]
• Easy to use – Most SaaS applications do not require more than a web
browser to run.
• Cheap- The pay as you go pricing model of SaaS makes it affordable
to small businesses and individuals.
• Scalability: SaaS application can be easily scaled up or down to meet
consumer demand. Consumers do not need to worry about
additional computing infrastructure to scale up.
• Applications are less prone to data loss since data is being stored in
the cloud
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19. SaaS - Pros (con’t)
• Compared to traditional applications, SaaS applications are less
clunky. They do not require users to install/uninstall binary code on
their machines.
• Due to the delivery nature of Sass through the internet, SaaS
applications are able to run on a wide variety of devices.
• Allows for better collaboration between teams since the data is
stored in a central location.
• Velocity of change in SaaS applications is much faster
• SaaS favors a Agile development life cycle.
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20. SaaS – Cons [10]
• Robustness:
SaaS software may not be as robust (functionality wise) as traditional
software applications due to browser limitations. Consider Google
Doc & Microsoft Office.
• Privacy:
Having all of a user’s data sit in the cloud raises security & privacy
concerns. SaaS providers are usually the target of hack exploits e.g.
Google servers have been the target of exploits purportedly from
China in the last several years
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21. SaaS – Cons (con’t)
• Security:
Attack detection, malicious code detection
• Reliability:
In the rare event of a SaaS provider going down, a wide range of
dependent clients could be affected. For example, when Amazon
EC2 service went down in April 2011, it took down FourSquare,
Reddit, Quora and other well known applications that run on it.
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22. Conclusion
• SaaS greatly enhances the ability of developers to scale their
application on demand and better suite customer needs.
• It encourages Agile practices by enabling providers deliver frequent
updates/patches without waiting for major release cycles as in
traditional applications.
• SaaS applications however are susceptible to privacy, security and
reliability concerns.
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23. Conclusion (con’t)
• Hybrid environments combining both SaaS and traditional application
methodologies may be useful in scenarios of extremely sensitive data
or where constant up-time must be maintained
• Use of SaaS services is pervasive in the development and deployment
of modern applications
• In conclusion, the SaaS methodology is very mature and would play a
central to the future of computing.
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24. References
[1]http://www.zdnet.com/article/cloudy-concepts-iaas-paas-saas-maas-caas-xaas/
[2] http://www.bsmreview.com/bsm_cloudcomputing.html
[3] Subashis Biswas; Meghdut Roy Chouwdhury , July 2013, Software as a Service:
Cost Effective Strategic Model to Manage Cloud Services , International Journal of
Advanced Research in Computer Science and Software Engineering .
[4] http://www.tuicool.com/articles/I7NZZv
[5] http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/software-as-a-service-saas
[6] http://wiki.fi-xifi.eu/Public:D1.1
[7] http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/49662/Cloud-Computing-SaaS
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25. References (con’t) 25
[8]http://www.alvarezandmarsal.com/software-service-saas-insights-and-
issues-investors
[9]http://www.interoute.com/what-saas
[10] http://www.zdnet.com/article/saas-pros-cons-and-leading-vendors/
[11] http://www.interoute.com/what-saas
[12] http://www.tuicool.com/articles/I7NZZv
[13] http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/software-as-a-service-saas

26. Questions?
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27. Thank You
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