Software as a Service (SaaS) – meaning delivering software over the Internet – is increasingly popular for its ability to simplify deployment and reduce customer acquisition costs. The concept is simple – rather than pay for owning or perpetually licensing the software, a government signs up to use the application, and pays a subscription fee for using it. The vendor hosts the application, and is responsible for its availability, including maintenance, scalability, disaster recovery, etc.

SaaS has several advantages over the traditional on-site software model in terms of licensing cost, location, and use in a production environment.  Benefits include:

• No client/server software installation or maintenance – no complicated planning and implementation guides, no need to go around and install something on the PC of everyone who is going to access the system.

• Off-site availability – we’re talking about functionality that is available from anywhere on the Internet – imagine having this as a key part of your disaster recovery plan.

• Constant, incremental upgrades – when you use a SaaS application, a good provider wants to keep you happy by constantly improving the user experience. These improvements are easier to learn and take advantage of when they come one-by-one instead of as a huge patch or upgrade that costs you time and aggravation, and often comes with an extra price tag, too.

• IT staff can focus on other activities – With SaaS, the provider takes on responsibilities that fall on IT in the traditional client/server application. This frees IT personnel to focus more on high-value activities and day-to-day technical operations instead of being called on to troubleshoot application software or assist users with access or compatibility issues.

• Ability to redistribute your IT budget – With SaaS, you realize a cost savings in infrastructure requirements and IT time and knowledge requirements. The cost savings from using SaaS applications can be saved, or reallocated to improve other IT services.

• Predictable expenses – SaaS subscribers pay a monthly or annual subscription fee for on-line access, which includes maintenance, support, and automatic upgrades. This makes it easier for governments to predict costs and plan their budgets.

SaaS is especially appealing to those with smaller IT budgets because it allows them to run modern, sophisticated applications on a pay-as-you-go basis, with minimal need for up-front investment. Scalability is also a big plus. Adding new users, even in different locations, only involves establishing the security level and giving them web access.

If you would like to discuss SaaS usage in your government, contact iDC.