The future of software is currently wavering between two poles.
- Software as a Product (SaaP) is the historic method of providing applications. As a simple example, you buy Microsoft Word or download OpenOffice for those who are already angry that I mentioned a Microsoft product. You download the software, install it, and periodically update it. You may need someone to maintain it for you. I handle that task for my family and many friends.
- Software as a Service (SaaS) is a newer means of software distribution. You pay by use or amount of traffic. The software is automatically updated, running, and maintained. Think of it like renting a house. Someone else cuts the grass, updates are done without you needing to do them, and the owner handles problems. Stevenson (2008) put it this way: "SaaS is about hiding the essential software-ness of Software."
Let's look at an example: a Learning Management System (LMS). This will be a "little" over-simplified but should help show the differences between SaaS and SaaP.
Moodle uses SaaP. It is widely used and appreciated by many educational and corporate entities.
What are Moodle problems as a SaaP? When the update from Moodle 1.9 to Moodle 2 occurred there were many users crying foul in the forums. The storage changed in a dramatic way to the concept of repositories, there was no easy way to migrate courses and linked data, and installation problems hindered the development of organizations.
If Moodle used SaaS, the developers would have worked out the migration and storage issues. They would have migrated the user's courses and data. Teachers wouldn't need to be IT specialists or programmers. If you don't think this is true look at the forums, for example:
http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=91496
However, the problem, beside the architectural changes needed, are the cost and support issues. It would require a cloud provider willing to be very inexpensive. It would require the support and development staff to work on a sandbox together.
There is also a personal downside to SaaS. The changes are made and a new release installed without your actions. You wake up and a new release is running. The learning curve and time to productivity can be high. If you don't like Word 2010, you could still keep running Word 2007.
In a SaaS world, there is only one release running and everyone gets it.
In addition, Moodle is very customizable as SaaP. SaaS would require a Browser-like add-in feature that allows the modification and enhancement of the LMS features.
Stevenson, D. (2008). Has SaaS already become passe? Retrieved from
http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/original-thinking/has-saas-already-become-passe-26965
Hello Bill
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the differences between the two models however as an individual I also appreciate the need for an inexpensive cloud provider but if at work this service was more efficient than the one we allready suffer with I would be all for it!
Helen
Helen,
DeleteSaaS uses a cloud and should provide an easier platform to use and be less expensive. I agree with you, cost, efficiency, and ease of use are critical features for the technology.
Bill
Hello Bill
ReplyDeleteI was chatting with one of our IT people last week, he actually builds our Second Life site for outpatients and he said it would be unlikely we would adopt cloud in its current form due to security issues?
Helen
Helen,
DeleteIntel (2011) provided a 21 page guide to establishing security in the cloud. The guide described the needed cooperation between cloud provider and the site. They recommended seven steps:
1. Start planning for security early
2. Identify vulnerabilities in the cloud service
3. Encrypt data, secure the platform, have high auditing levels, and verify identities and control access to trusted systems.
4. Protect all the data – in motion, process, and at rest.
5. Verify that you have secured your platform
6. Extend trust across federated clouds
7. Choose the right cloud provider.
The guide is free and provides detailed steps and tasks for each step.
Rodak (2011) provided an article with the three best practices for hospitals that will integrate patient data in the cloud.
Rodak, S. (2011). 3 Best Practices for Hospitals Integrating Patient Data in the Cloud. Becker’s Hospital Review. Retrieved from http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/3-best-practices-for-hospitals-integrating-patient-data-in-the-cloud.html
Intel. (2011). Intel IT Center: Planning Guide Cloud Security. Retrieved from http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/swf/pdfview/it-center/cloud-security/planning-guide/appli.htm
Bill,
ReplyDeleteI see that both have their advantages and disadvantages. I guess it depends how much the user is capable of handling as far as a learning curve in order to remain productive. Is there a happy medium to where teachers don't have to be IT specialists or programmers to gain from the updates?
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ReplyDeleteKristin,
ReplyDeleteYou have described what I see as the problem with most software development companies. They forget that people should have the easiest user interface possible.
I always think of Microsoft word when I begin to plan an interface. Most people use less than 5% of the capabilities of Word. But they have to deal with hundreds of non-intuitive options and settings.
Worse yet, an update, like the one from Word 2003 to Word 2007, can take days for a user to master. The users’ work is interrupted while they must relearn where the options now are that they depend on to do their job. It is sad when the reason for the change is aesthetic or more “state of the art” than required or based on making the work flow faster.
I have a friend who worked at a company that built octagonal classrooms. His comment was "there's a reason classrooms have been rectangular for decades."
The software and updates should never force teachers to be IT specialists or programmers.
Bill