This document discusses software as a service (SaaS) and cloud computing. It notes that key drivers for SaaS adoption are cost effectiveness and ease of deployment. Common SaaS applications include CRM, finance, BI, and collaboration tools. The document also discusses challenges for SaaS providers such as improving performance and expanding into new markets. It states that cloud computing offers benefits like lower costs and business agility but faces challenges regarding security and ownership. For cloud computing to succeed, the internet will need to be more robust and secure to support emerging cloud offerings.

1. From Software as a Service to Cloud Computing Vikram. Murdeshwar Product Marketing Application Performance Solutions December 2008

2. Software as a Service (SaaS) Key Drivers for SaaS Adoption Cost effectiveness Easy to deploy/ implement Common SaaS applications CRM/ SFA, Finance, BI, BPM, GRC, Sourcing and Procurement, e-Learning, Collaboration, HRMS Key Drivers for moving from On-Premise to SaaS Finding the right mix of applications that can be outsourced or kept in-house Lower Total Cost of Ownership Inability to obtain the desired ROI and performance levels with traditional solutions

3. Akamai’s unique global view of SaaS Transaction Akamai-accelerated SaaS transactions increase 10X over the past two years Reliable and fast application response times boost user satisfaction in 146 countries

4. Key Challenges for SaaS Companies Improve Application performance and availability Lower management and support costs Expanding into new markets Ensure security Akamai’s Highly Distributed EdgePlatform Server deployments in over 3,000 network locations Within one network hop of 85%+ of the world’s Internet users Akamai’s Approach

5. Cloud Computing Gained significant traction as a ‘Concept’ but not a reality in the Enterprise… yet Very few Enterprises will build their own cloud due to TCO. Why is Cloud Computing interesting for Enterprises? Lowering Capital and Operational Costs Business Agility and efficiency Challenges Ownership of the Cloud Regulating the Cloud Security for your mission Critical Applications housed in the Cloud In Reality only few companies can support a Cloud Computing Environment. Companies will mix and match the right cloud/ internet technologies depending on factors such as application design, complexity, business value etc..

6. What is needed for Cloud Computing to be a reality ? The Internet is still not regulated, robust and safe enough to handle the coming Cloud Computing offerings. Important things to look for in a Cloud Computing Service Security Compliance Support SLA Location of Data Global performance Akamai has already built a business cloud infrastructure that offers SLA’s for SaaS and Application Acceleration today and will be leveraged by Cloud Computing vendors as they emerge.

7. Akamai for In-The-Cloud Optimizations performance availability security scale/offload = With Akamai = Without Akamai