SaaS

SaaS

Definition
1. software hosted, managed and maintained by a cloud service provider
2. made accessible to consumers over the internet on demand
3. configurable resources are offered: storage, networking capabilities, server usage, applications
4. service accessed through the browser
5. consumer unable to manage or alter underlying software but rather use it as is and when needed
Types of SaaS enterprise Software
1. BI and Analytics
  1. SaaS BI delivers BI tools such as dashboards to consolidate key facts about business for easy consumption
  2. consumers are encouraged to view business critical info during the course of normal browsing
2. CRM
  1. provide business solution in cost effective maner
  2. Salesforce.com has created a SaaS CRM product
  3. allows company to focus on their core functions
3. ERP
  1. allows the rental of ERP or use of ERP for a period of time
SaaS Infrastructure
1. application layer
  1. manages all application services offered to the consumer
  2. direct interaction with user
  3. responsible for providing services
2. service management layer
  1. provides requirements to users per application requirements
  2. a functional module
  3. performs specific tasks per role of user as governed by specific business roles
3. Business Layer
  1. made up of business components and rules that operate on the SaaS service and its components
  2. built to allow readily changed to suit business needs
  3. independent of functional modules of service
4. Data Layer
  1. metadata management layer
    1. bridge between business layer and DML
  2. data management layer (DML)
    1. used to store and record data flowing in and out of SaaS service
5. Platform Layer
  1. mapping and scheduling policies for the translation of consumers Quality of Service (QoS) requirements
6. Infrastructure Layer
  1. allocates virtual machines to consumers requests
Multi-tenant architecture
1. structure whereby a single instance of software is made up of many consumers (tenants) on a one to many structure
2. consumers sharing the same application and database
3. allows provider to reach economy of scale
4. allows increased utilization of hardware resources and improved ease of maintenance during deployments
Web Services
1. a software system designed to support interoperable machine to machine interaction over a network
2. provides a standard mechanism for applications to publish and subscribe software services over the internet allowing for SaaS applications to be accessible
SaaS governance and core competency
1. Provider management
  1. service level agreement (SLA)
    1. governs quality and availability of service
    2. provides support for consumers
    3. components
      1. the parties
        the consumer
        the provider
        third parties
      2. SLA parameters
        metrics on how the service parameters are measured
      3. Service level objectives
        set of formal expressions that describe conditions and actions which need to be performed by each party when condition is met
  2. provider needs to be able to mitigate threats to consumer
2. security management
  1. security structure would be in charge of: identifying and aggregating security compliancy and privacy issues, and solutions and processes that would positively impact the organisation
  2. can either positively or negatively impact the adoption of SaaS
  3. SLA parameters need to mention security measures
3. Standard Management
  1. providers need to have a set of standards
  2. interoperability
  3. portability
  4. security for the services
  5. values need to be aligned
  6. need to be alignment in terms of software requirements
4. Information Management
  1. need to have correct management of information
  2. release dates
  3. technical integration
  4. budgeting allocation
  5. system administration
Pricing Models
1. pay per use
  1. charged according to number of units used and each unit is charged at a fixed price
  2. small consumers who lack capital
  3. acts as an operating cost
  4. allows consumer to test and evaluate the software to see if it meets needs
  5. difficult to estimate
2. software rental
  1. provider and consumer negotiate subscription fee to use software
  2. decided on the amount of time software is used, number of users using, the company size, the functionality being used
  3. user pays irrespective of whether they use it or not
3. fixed price
  1. pay a fixed rate for a certain number of hours of software usage per month
  2. allows for definite cost
4. revenue percentage
  1. for consumers selling products and services
  2. to collect a percentage of revenue rather than flat fee
  3. percentage depends on size of business and nature of industry in which business operates
5. hybrid
  1. allows combination of paying models
  2. more direct and flexible relationship between usage and cost
  3. difficult to estimate future costs as it allows consumers to rent some aspects of software without worrying about amount of units used
Advantages
1. lower costs
2. higher level of service
3. convenient and scalable
4. flexibility
5. higher security and lower risk
Disadvantages
1. financial
2. lack of customisation flexibility
3. limited integration and transition
4. issues specific to developing countries
5. data security and integrity
6. network security
7. business continuity and service availablity
8. data confidentiality and auditability
9. vendor and data lock in
10. compliance
11. organisational change
Management Issues
1. Finance
  1. choose correct pricing model to suit needs
  2. implementation costs
  3. benefit of elasticity and transference of risk outweighs the costs
2. Risk management
  1. SLA agreement to mitigate costs
  2. encrypt storage
  3. firewalls
  4. virtual local area network
  5. countries have laws under which data is governed
  6. transfer risk of overprovisioing
  7. transfer risk of under provisioning
3. Customer Retention
4. application selection
  1. functional fit
  2. flexibility and adatability
  3. reliability
  4. scability
  5. fulfilment of organisational needs
  6. process improvement over existing systems
5. Vendor selection
  1. reputation
  2. vision and strategy
  3. financial position
  4. reliability
  5. ability to meet future needs
  6. service quality of implementation
  7. security and privacy
  8. implementation time
  9. resonsiveness and support
6. Firewall
  1. firewall stops all incoming traffic
SaaS vendors
1. Salesforce.com
2. Microsoft
3. Oracle
4. SAP
5. Netsuite

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