Software as a service (SaaS, typically pronounced [sæs]), sometimes referred to as "software on demand," is software that is deployed over the internet and/or is deployed to run behind a firewall on a local area network or personal computer. With SaaS, a provider licenses an application to customers as a service on demand, through a subscription, in a "pay-as-you-go" model, or increasingly at no charge.

 

SaaS was initially widely deployed for sales force automation and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Now, it has become commonplace for many business tasks, including computerized billing, invoicing, human resource management, financials, content management, collaboration, document management, and service desk management.

 

Software and business professionals generally associate the term SaaS with business software, and as a possibly lower-cost way for businesses to use software as needed rather than license all devices with all applications. With a well-designed implementation and properly priced licenses, on-demand SaaS provides license benefits without associated complexity and the potential high cost to equip devices with applications they may not need.

 

Remote administration software attempts to resolve this issue by letting, for example, someone on a home computer remotely operate their machine at work to create a document in a word processor licensed on that machine. While promising, this requires leaving the host computer on and creates security issues. SaaS achieves efficiencies by enabling on-demand licensing and management of information and output, independent of hardware location.