Usage of Software as a Service Continues to Rise

Increased availability of high speed internet connection makes software subscription a viable alternative to acquire a legal right to use software. The dominant mode of software licensing is the EULA or End User License Agreement where the buyer of the license even pays for the times when the software is not used. Supporters of software subscription or Software as a Service (SaaS) argue that it is better to pay for the software only on those instances when they are used. They contrast software whose licenses follow the EULA or on premises model where buyers of the license even pay for the software even though the computer is turned off.

With the availability of 24 hour, high speed connections, it is now possible to have access to software from high speed servers accessible via the internet. The pricing scheme for SaaS is more flexible and can be cost effective for most offices. The subscriber has the option of paying for the software on a per use basis, or they may choose to pay on a per business basis.

With the cost effectiveness of SaaS, 95 percent of 270 IT professionals from North America, the Asia-Pacific and Europe intend to maintain or even increase usage of Software as a Service. Aside from cost effectiveness, another reason why SaaS is an effective model or acquiring the right to use software is that the centralized location of the software means ease of updates to the software. The Saas model means that when a bug is fixed, all users of the software benefit. This makes the downloading of patches and updates a thing of the past.

The IT professionals that participated in the survey had significant say on support, implementation, planning or budgeting of enterprise level applications. The positive outlook these professionals have on SaaS clearly indicate the maturity of the model where it is not seen anymore a new way of distributing software. In fact many of the professionals involved in the survey have been using SaaS for more than three years already.

In terms of use, the most popular SaaS applications are email management, customer relations management, accounting, and sales. Information technology professionals based in North America and the Asia-Pacific expressed greater confidence in the use of Software as a Service. In terms of investing on Software as a Service, more than 50 percent of those interviewed believed that their companies will slightly increase their usage of SaaS while 19 percent believe that there will be a significant increase in investment on SaaS. A quarter of the information technology professionals believe that their companies will maintain the same level of investment on SaaS while a small minority consisting of four percent of IT professionals expressed disappointment in SaaS hence expect a decrease in investment on Software as a Service.

Those who expressed disappointment with the SaaS model noted that the absence of a reliable, high speed internet connection makes software access problematic while others cite that issues on integrating the software with business flow make adoption of SaaS difficult.