A review of the benefits and disadvantages of using cloud-based software versus the traditional on-premise model.
Executive summary
- While software licenses used to be "owned", software is moving to subscriptions in the cloud. This is often referred to as Software-as-a-Service, of SaaS.
- Benefits of SaaS include low startup costs and flexibility without having to maintain software licenses and data centers.
- Owned software can be less expensive in the long run and can, in some cases, be customized for your organization's needs.
Software used to be something a company bought, installed on its own computers and servers, and handled all the networking and storage needs in order to use the software. Organizations purchased new versions of software regularly for updates and started the process over again. Then a new model started popping up, something people called Software as a Service, or (SaaS). Now, more and more companies are moving everything to what has become known as “the cloud,” with software and storage being outsourced to companies like Google, Apple and Amazon Web Services, to be accessed through the internet.
What has caused this change? Why are we seeing this shift toward cloud computing? And what are the pros and cons?
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