| | April 20188CIOReviewIS SaaS THE WAY FORWARD FOR ALL ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS?n this age of continuous technology evolu-tion and high-speed internet, Software-as-a-Service is now an option provided by most enterprise software vendors. The question that remains is if this is just a trend or even-tually all software we consume will move to this model. To answer this question, we need to demystify SaaS and understand the underlying economics and the needs it addresses. The genesis and success of SaaS can be traced back to 3 factors. One has its roots in Economics 101 or the foun-dation of economics in our society. The second is a more recent change in the way businesses are run and valued. And, the third is a change in consumption pattern. Let us look at these three in detail. Economics 101A household in a remote part of the world that survives on their own would have to do all activities on its own, in-cluding farming or hunting for food, cooking, protecting the family, educating children, administering medicine, etc... If you move this household to a complex society in a town or city, it would now have to choose its specializa-tion. It would end up providing that specialized service to many others while relying on other providers for their necessities. This gives rise to organized food companies, schools, police, doctors, and other specialized professions. The roots of `as-a-service' lie here - whether it is food, education, protection, medicine, and others. The same can be extended to a business with multiple functions supporting the core line (specialization) func-tion. Much before SaaS was popularized, there have been 'as-a-service' providers for all major support functions. For example, payroll processing companies, freelance ac-countants for financial statement creation, external HR consultants, coaches, etc... that are engaged for a specific duration rather than employing them full-time. In the current times, IT systems have become an in-tegral part of any organization. As a direct consequence of this, it has resulted in the need for teams to manage the IT systems (software and hardware). For small and large companies alike, it raises the question 'Are we better off consuming the software as a service or implementing and maintaining it ourselves?'. The fundamental driver IBy Vinod Mathur, Sr Director - Strategic Services at JDA SoftwareIN MY OPINIONVinod Mathur
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