CLOUD / SOFTWARE
Getting a Clear View of
the Cloud Opportunity
The cloud is a hot topic for small
What are the three different types of cloud computing and how can resellers compete with vendor direct sales as
well as their larger resellers?
businesses all the way to global
enterprises but remains a broad concept
that covers a lot of online territory.
As you begin to consider switching your
business to the cloud, whether it be for
application or infrastructure deployment, it
is more important than ever to understand
the di erences and advantages of the various
cloud services.
ere are usually three models of cloud
service to compare: Software as a Service
(SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
SaaS: Software as a Service
Software as a Service represents the most
commonly utilised option for businesses in
the cloud market. SaaS utilises the internet to
deliver applications, which are managed by a
third-party vendor, to its users. A majority of
SaaS applications run directly through a web
browser, which means they do not require
any downloads or installations on the client
side.D
ue to its web delivery model, SaaS
eliminates the need to have IT sta
download and install applications on each
individual computer. With SaaS, vendors
manage all potential technical issues, such
as data, middleware, servers, and storage,
resulting in streamlined maintenance and
support for the business.
SaaS Advantages
Stephen Watts, who works at the
intersection of IT and marketing for BMC
Software, says “SaaS provides numerous
advantages to employees and companies
by greatly reducing the time and money
spent on tedious tasks such as installing,
managing, and upgrading software. is
frees up plenty of time for technical sta to
spend on more pressing matters and issues
within the organisation.”
Watts says there are many clear situations
where SaaS could prove to be the best option.
• Start-ups or small companies that need to
launch ecommerce quickly and don’t have
time for server issues or software
• Short-term projects that require quick,
easy, and a ordable collaboration
• Applications that aren’t needed too often,
such as tax software
• Applications that need both web and
mobile access
SaaS Limitations and Concerns
SaaS is not entirely perfect and some of
its key issues surround integration with
existing business applications and data
security.
Data security. Large volumes of data may
have to be exchanged to the backend data
centres of SaaS apps in order to perform
the necessary software functionality.
Transferring sensitive business information
to public cloud-based SaaS service may
result in compromised security and
compliance in addition to signi cant cost
for migrating large data workloads.
Another issue for many organisations
that by and large SaaS are not customisable
– everyone gets the same app and features.
However, there are many exceptions
to this with software development kits
being available alongside optional vendor
customisations facilities. A good example
of customisation would be Akixi’s call
management and analytics products and
Tollring’s analytics app.
Users must also be aware they are
reliant on vendor uptime for service. Any
downtime results in no service. Planned and
unplanned maintenance, cyber-attacks, or
network issues may impact the performance
of the SaaS app despite adequate service
level agreement (SLA) protections in place.
For example, last May, Salesforce.com
customers su ered a problem that resulted
in customers losing access to some of the
company’s most popular online services.
PaaS: Platform as a Service
PaaS sits in between SaaS and IaaS as
a service and is a complete, scalable
development and deployment environment
that is sold as a subscription service. PaaS
includes all elements that a developer needs
to create and run cloud applications—
operating system, programming languages,
execution environment, database, and web
e majority of organisations in the UK are using at least 1 or more SaaS applications. server—all residing on the cloud service
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/Salesforce.com
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