Historically, companies were required to buy, build, and maintain their IT infrastructures despite exponential costs. SaaS gives companies an alternative. Now, they can plug in and subscribe to services built on shared infrastructure via the Internet. The SaaS model has flourished in recent years because of the many benefits it offers to businesses of all sizes and types.

Here’s what’s driving customers to take advantage of SaaS solutions:

1. High Adoption
   
   SaaS applications are available from any computer or any device—any time, anywhere. Because most people are familiar with using the Internet to find what they need, SaaS apps tend to have high adoption rates, with a lower learning curve.
   
   
2. Lower Initial Costs
   
   SaaS applications are subscription based. No license fees mean lower initial costs. Having the SaaS provider manage the IT infrastructure means lower IT costs for hardware, software, and the people needed to manage it all.
   
   
3. Painless Upgrades
   
   Because the SaaS provider manages all updates and upgrades, there are no patches for customers to download or install. The SaaS provider also manages availability, so there’s no need for customers to add hardware, software, or bandwidth as the user base grows.
   
   
4. Seamless Integration
   
   SaaS vendors with true multitenant architectures can scale indefinitely to meet customer demand. Many SaaS providers also offer customization capabilities to meet specific needs. Plus, many provide APIs that let you integrate with existing ERP systems or other business productivity systems.

Why SaaS is Popular for the Enterprise

The popularity of SaaS is steadily increasing because it simplifies deployment and reduces customer acquisition costs. With SaaS, developers can support many customers with a single version of a product. This approach, called multitenancy, allows companies to scale as fast and as much as needed without replacing costly infrastructure or adding IT staff.

Why SaaS is Popular with IT

A recent survey of a thousand IT professionals by Forrester Research found that they are turning to hosted (SaaS) products as a way to offload management of non-mission-critical applications such as HR and CRM. Plus, the subscription-based SaaS pricing model can keep IT budget costs consistent or lower than packaged or homegrown software.