Cloud providers offer subscribers Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) which is how applications are delivered to the end-user and is often the version of cloud computing that most people are familiar with on a day-to-day basis. The underlying hardware and operating system platform is of no concern to the end user, since they access the service via a web browser or app. Access to cloud computing applications is usually bought on a per-user basis.
According to researchers SaaS will likely remain the dominant cloud computing model for the foreseeable future, and will represent two-thirds of all public cloud spending. The applications that attract the most users include customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource management (ERM) applications However the variety of applications delivered through SaaS platforms is huge with more vendors moving to cloud solutions for their products.
The exact benefits of applications delivered through the cloud vary based on the type of cloud provider being used but using cloud services usually means companies not having to buy or maintain their own computing infrastructure. They no longer have to buy servers to host applications and need no longer be concerned with updating them or the operating systems on which they run. For bread and butter commodity applications such as email, it make senses to switch to a cloud provider who is using the latest technology rather than having to rely on in-house skills.
Using cloud applications means companies can move faster on projects and test concepts without large upfront costs, since organizations only pay for the resources they use with cloud. This concept of agility is touted by cloud advocates as a key benefit. The ability to implement new applications and services without the time and effort associated with traditional IT processes means that it is easier to get started with new applications faster. And if a new application is popular and requires an expanded footprint the elastic nature of cloud services means it is easier to scale it up fast.
For an organization that has spikes in application usage that occur, for example, only at a particular time of the week or year, it makes more financial sense to have it hosted in the cloud, rather than have hardware and software laying idle for the rest of the time. Moving to a cloud computing application for services like email or CRM removes the burden on internal IT staff and using a services model also moves spending from capital expenditure to operating expenditure which is often an advantage for some companies.
