Software- as- a –Service (SaaS) is an application delivery model that enables users to utilize a software solution over the Internet. SaaS revenue models are typically subscription based, where users pay a fixed recurring fee over a period of.

The purpose of this post is to answer a question we get all the time – what is SaaS? We’ll define the meaning of SaaS and describe how it differs from on-premise solutions (also known as on-site), explain the key benefits, share some examples of leading SaaS companies for illustration, and explore some recent trends. What is Software as a Service?, a leading technology media company, defines Software as a Service (SaaS) as a “software distribution model in which a third-party provider hosts applications and makes them available to customers over the Internet.” In laymen’s terms, SaaS businesses provide a software that can be accessed from any device with an internet connection through a pay-for-use or subscription model. What is on-premise? According to Techopedia, an online technology dictionary, defines on-premise solutions as “a type of software delivery model that is installed and operated from a customer’s in-house server and computing infrastructure. It utilises an organisation’s native computing resources and requires only a licensed or purchased copy of software from an independent software vendor.” It’s important to mention that “on-premise” was originally known as “on-premises” because it is hosted at your own physical location.

Has since shortened the term to “on-premise.” Examples of on-premise solutions are Sharepoint and the Adobe Creative Suite. How does SaaS differ from on-premise? With SaaS solutions, you essentially rent software from the provider. They are responsible for upgrades, data storage, and security. With on-premise solutions (or “on-prem” if you’re a techie), you license a software and host it “on premise.” This means that you are in charge of the hardware, support, and infrastructure on an ongoing basis.

SaaS is still a relatively new technology. As a result, its market share is still smaller than on-premise, but that is set to change based on steadily increasing demand for SaaS over and above on-premise solutions. What are examples of Software as a Service companies? Here are a few examples of Software as a Service companies in no particular order. We’ve chosen these as examples for three key reasons: 1) They top many “best-of” lists; 2) You’ve probably heard their names before; and 3) They do very different things.

• Salesforce.com – Salesforce.com is recognised by many as the founder of the SaaS industry. Salesforce.com is a public company based in San Francisco, CA that was founded in 1999. Its CRM (customer relationship management) platform enables businesses to manage their customers and prospects in one central location. • Athenahealth – Athenahealth provides technology services to medical professionals.

Physicians use Athenahealth to manage billing and other operations-related health management services through the Cloud. The public company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Watertown, MA. Athenahealth is leading the healthcare IT industry, which is poised to, up from $134B in 2016. • Slack – Slack is the “current coolest SaaS on the block” according to. Slack is a cloud-based collaboration platform that allows teams to share messages and files real-time.

Slack is a private company that is valued at $3.8B, which is truly amazing considering it’s only four years old. Fun fact: Slack “Searchable Log of All Conversation and Knowledge.” • DocuSign – is an electronic signature technology that enables businesses to sign and exchange digital contracts. Bible for pc windows 10. It was started in 2003 and is now headquartered in San Francisco (seeing a trend here?). 85 million users generate nearly 950,000 transactions per day. This SaaS solution has completely modernised the back-and-forth of contractual agreements.

• SurveyMonkey – Is it possible to dislike this company’s name? We think not. Founded in 1999, SurveyMonkey is an online survey development company that allows businesses to collect and analyse data. The company’s simple user interface has made collecting market research and customer feedback easier than ever. SurveyMonkey was #6 on the list in 2016.

One interesting thing to point out is that all of these businesses have been founded in the last twenty years, which is around when Software as a Service really started to take off. It’s no wonder these tech giants are at the leading edge of the SaaS market considering their uncanny ability to innovate and to leverage the major benefits of SaaS over other solutions.