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Over the past twenty years, Software as a Service, or SaaS, has risen to dominance as the most common means of software distribution. Broadly speaking, it is characterised by cloud computing and subscription based services. To gain a deeper understanding of it and its importance in today's world, we shall first examine its predecessor - Software as a Product (SaaP).

Software as a Product requires users to install and run the software on their own hardware, manage updates manually, and often purchase new versions of the software to access the latest features and improvements. Financially, this usually means a large initial cost to purchase the software, along with any ongoing costs to license, maintain, and update the product. Most of the software that Logical Developments offer, such as our ConNote and Payroll packages, falls in this category.

The concept of Software as a Service began to take shape in the late 1990s. As the internet grew faster and more reliable, some software vendors began offering their applications over the internet instead of as locally installed programs. This meant the user was no longer responsible for maintaining the software or providing hardware for it to run on – all they needed was an internet-capable machine. Instead of a large initial cost, users could purchase subscriptions to the software for a long – or short – as they needed to.

To aid in understanding what Software as a Service could mean for you, we have listed some of the advantages and disadvantages below:

Advantages of SaaS

• Cost Effectiveness: SaaS solutions are typicaly subscription based, which means new users can be up and running very quickly with comparitively little expense.
• Accessibility & Scalability: Without the need for on-location hardware, SaaS applications can be accessed from anywhere, facilitating remote work. And as your business grows, adding more users is only a matter of upgrading your subscription – the software provider handles the technical side.
• Software Updates & Maintenance: As the software provider hosts the applications, SaaS solutions can be continually improved on and maintained without any interruption to the end user. This ensures users always have the latest features and security updates, with no extra fuss.

Disadvantages of SaaS

• Dependence on Internet Connectivity: SaaS applications require stable internet. Any interuptions to your internet connection may result in lost or corrupted data, as well as preventing use of the software. In Australia, particularly country & remote regions, this is a drawback that must be considered carefully.
• Data Security & Privacy: With Software as a Product, your data is your own – you have control over how you manage security, access, and privacy. Software as a Service removes that direct control to the service provider. For some, this may seem appealing – one less thing to take care of – but the more data a software provider hosts, the more valuable a target it becomes to cyber criminals. Users considering SaaS solutions should ensure their provider has a robust and transparent security processes.
• One size fits all (or does it)?: Software as a Service is by nature designed to meet the requirements of a broad audience. Customisations are not impossible, but may incur additional costs which should be compared to the cost of the software as a product.
• Subscription Costs: While a subscription may cost far less that the intial cost of the software product, it is continually incurred and may over time cost more that the cost of the product. Once more, this is something users should consider and weigh up for themselves – everyone’s situation is unique.

Over the last year, we have been taking steps towards offering our software as a service, in addition to as a product. We think that it is important that our customers have that option – while Software as a Service offers worthwhile advantages, it also comes with its own restrictions. Our goal remains to provide the most suitable solution for our clients – to make their day better.