When small business owners hit the Web searching for small business software, a phrase they’ll hear a lot about: SaaS. No, it isn’t software with an attitude; it’s the evolution of how software is delivered. However, there are some arguments that challenge the decision to go with SaaS or not.
The old way of consuming software was going to the local store, buying a boxed version of a program, run home, open up the CD case with excitement, install it and use it. This was fine, but it also had its fair share of limitations. Software updates often would require you to go out and repeat the same process. In addition, installed software often has issues with individual computer configurations. Ultimately, these traditional software installations caused users frustration, experienced longer delays between updates and tech support hassles.
Software-as-a-Service, abbreviated “SaaS,” describes the way people use an application where it is primarily hosted by someone else and is delivered through the Web. Examples of this include our software, Google Docs, Yahoo/Live/AOL Webmail, Joomla or WordPress. It’s a large category — but the thing that’s common is that people can use these applications and never have to download any software to their computers.
For fresh perspective, I dropped by the product management room and asked Brad and Scott for their thoughts on why a SaaS is better than traditional software. “The thought of having an IT staff is not a possibility,” says Scott Martineau, “that’s the big benefit for small business.”
Brad Martineau added, “Small business owners don’t know about servers or any of that mess; they need reliability, security and accessibility. With a hosted experience, users can get just that.”
He continued, “At the end of the day, I want access to my crap, I need something that works for me while I sleep and while I watch Dora the Explorer with my kids. That’s what works.” Brad explained that he doesn’t want to worry about backing up stuff, and neither do our users.
An argument (or rogue benefit) against choosing SaaS is that a third party possesses your data. The drawback is that you can’t move this data easily. The benefit is no headache and an inherent responsibility on the provider to keep your information safe and secure. Providers often empower users to export data on demand, to address this critique. (For the record, we’re certified PCI Compliant, meaning your customer data is very safe.)
SaaS applications are here to stay. Just some food for thought to the naysayers on SaaS … software companies who had their roots deep in the traditional software market have migrated their offerings to SaaS. Intuit has a very extensive, reliable and powerful tax application on the Web through TurboTax, and Microsoft is migrating many Office features on the Web with Office Live.
I believe a hosted Web application is better because users receive frequent updates, better support and are able to access it anywhere. Our users have it good; all they need is Firefox to use our software. No plugins, downloads or hassles. People pay for SaaS models because of the support, reliability and the nifty things they can do. (Like marketing automation, eh?)
I definitely enjoy the speed of installed software sometimes. But I don’t pay for it. 
[Image credit: Jeff Kubina on Flickr]
