Design comparison of traditional application and SaaS

Abstract

Software as a Service (SaaS) is an on-demand software delivery model, where the software and its related data are placed at remote location and are accessed as a web based service using a thin client such as web browser over the Internet. The salient features of SaaS includes low startup cost, easy provisioning at the time of need, shorter release cycle, easy maintenance, cost saving on maintenance and upgradation, multi tenant architecture, etc. The advantages and the working pattern surely make it as a best option for Small and Medium Business Enterprises, when compared to traditional web applications. However the consideration of wide consumer base with different requirements specification for a single application leads to the complexity of SaaS design. The SaaS applications are based on protocols such as HTTP, SOAP and architecture design concept such as REST. Many development models have been used for SaaS design however most of the models have very little focus on the reliability. A perspective comparison has been presented in the paper work for the traditional applications and the SaaS applications. A number of desired characteristics have been outlined to increase the configurability, portability and reliability of the SaaS applications designs.