The Distinction Between SaaS And Cloud Computing
March 9, 2012
Software as a service and cloud computing are two terms which are quite becoming popular in the world of computing. These two concepts have a positive outcome in the industry by making use of the internet to beat the conventional computing strategies. Although both concepts have similarities, they offer different services.
Software as a service applications have no huge upfront costs and even do not require upkeep and maintenance. They are often offered for lease to business owners and are accessed remotely through web browsers connected to the internet. Business owners save money because they only pay for software they need and do not have to worry about managing renewal fees, patches, and updates which are often identified with onsite applications…
Cloud computing also leases computer technology through the internet. It allows business owners to rent hardware, software, and more infrastructures which the business needs in order to accomplish its computing tasks. Through cloud computing, costly programming and technology demands are outsourced thereby allowing the entity’s employees to have access to computer resources via web browsers. Users need not have thorough knowledge of the hardware and software needed to support the web browser.
Cloud computing and software as a service have almost the same concept. A business owner can lease the services from a third party instead of spending a lot of money on upfront costs commonly associated with onsite infrastructure or software. A business owner who can’t afford expensive on-premise applications and infrastructure can take advantage of software as a service and cloud computing. Both software as a service and cloud computing are even more efficient and manageable than their traditional counterparts.
Software as a service and cloud computing are not one and the same. They vary in their scope. Cloud computing has a wider scope than software as a service. Although useful and innovative, software as a service leases computing applications only. A business owner who takes advantage of software as a service still needs computing resources for business computing to be effective and efficient
Cloud computing, on the other hand, leases software, infrastructure, and hardware. The whole leasing process offered by cloud computing to business owners can totally overhaul the whole accounting department. It can change the way the accounting process is undertaken. With cloud computing, less personnel and resources are needed for maintenance and development. This clearly differentiate software as a service from cloud computing.
Software as a service only provides access to specific applications in order to make the accounting process easier and more efficient but the entity still has the responsibility of storing data, and hiring and training employees. For cloud computing, the whole accounting process is simplified further by outsourcing not only the accounting software but storage space as well. Because storage space is also outsourced, there may no longer be a need to hire more experienced employees because cloud computing makes it possible for users who have no knowledge of the applications to access the software through web browsers.
Cloud computing and software as a service may essentially be the same concept with the same goal of improving and enhancing computing capabilities of business entities, cloud computing has a more dramatic impact to all businesses.