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SaaS & Cloud Computing

A lot of companies in a lot of markets have misused the words "Cloud Computing" and "SaaS" to make a sale or publish a paper, and the result is a lot of confusion over what the words mean and if they are indeed separate at all.

Does "Cloud Computing" actually mean anything or is it just a buzzword made up in a marketing room?

Learn the Difference

Cloud computing is not just a buzzword; it does have a specific meaning that is quite different from "SaaS", and if you’re talking to a vendor that doesn’t seem to understand the difference, run away.

What is Cloud Computing?

When you think about "Cloud Computing", think of it as a utility, like water or electricity that everyone else needs to use in order to operate.

"Cloud computing" refers to the idea of using the internet to allow users to access technology-enabled services without having anything on their premise but a computer of some time and a connection.

Cloud Computing Gets You to SaaS, but it also does a LOT more.

There are companies providing services in every area of Cloud Computing, outside of and including SaaS.

No matter what they do, Cloud Computing systems grow with their user base rapidly and on a massive scale, if need be.

Every time you log into Twitter, Facebook or an online reservation finder for hotels, you are using systems that fall under "cloud computing" but NOT SaaS.

So then, What is "SaaS"?

When we move from "Cloud Computing" to "SaaS", we see that cloud computing is but the foundation that most SaaS applications run on. "Cloud Computing" is where we start, and when we go to SaaS we arrive at some of the exciting things that Trigger works with to make companies around the world faster, smarter and more nimble.

Software-as-a-Service is enterprise-grade software that an organization accesses through a web browser and little to nothing else. That is all they need to run their mission-critical systems, and it is not only as robust as a large, expensive corporate system of the same type, but it is remotely maintained, patched and upgraded (for free), as well as priced competitively depending on usage.

What does "priced competitively depending on usage" mean?

Because SaaS uses the Cloud Computing foundation, it is able to be priced to companies based on their usage, such as number of liscenes required or Gigabytes of data stored. Also, the system can adapt as quickly as a growing company changes, expanding services or reducing them very quickly. The result? SaaS offers clients a robust system for a cost that always fits their budget.

For companies using this service, it means they no longer have to worry about building an infrastructure for software or developing teams of IT professionals to maintain and develop them.

Instead, the software is available via web browser and the SaaS vendor providing a service for a subscription fee from their client handles all issues and upgrades on the back end.

SaaS offers:

• Rapid Deployment of new applications to all users, everywhere
• No Patches or upgrades to implement
• No Server Hardware to buy and manage
• No IT Staff to maintain or develop your systems
• A pay As You Go Model (avoid paying up front for what you won’t use)
• Shared Risk with the Vendor, if your usage declines so does their revenue
• Personalization equal or greater than traditional software packages