Platform-as-a-Service Gains Momentum, Following SaaS

MBA (6/4/2008 ) Palaparty, Vijay
Platform-as-a-Service technology offers benefits of accelerated development and deployment processes to deliver applications that better align with end-users needs, according to a report from THINKstrategies, a Boston-based SaaS consulting firm.

PaaS provides hosted development, deployment and on-demand support for applications, following SaaS concepts.
“For software developers, IT departments and business units seeking to build SaaS solutions that meet standards of on-demand services, leveraging a web-based platform which offers tools for the complete application lifecycle is the best choice,” said Jeffrey Kaplan, founder of THINKstrategies. “PaaS can accelerate application development and deployment processes, enhance capabilities, reduce time to market and achieve corporate objectives.”

The report said that demand for PaaS increases because traditional onsite application development and deployment can be costly, complex and even cumbersome.

“PaaS combines required tools, systems and environments across the application lifecycle,” Kaplan said. “An increasing number of organizations of all sizes are looking for on-demand PaaS alternatives to traditional, on-premise software development toolkits and application hosting. Organizations are now seeking to leverage web-based, on-demand platforms that can deliver better applications while more quickly and cost-effectively meeting business needs. They are also interested in selecting the right development and delivery platform which can scale to support future requirements.”

The evolution of PaaS—tying different SaaS offerings together—comes after SaaS gained market acceptance, the report said. “Just as the costs of running application infrastructure no longer makes sense for many organizations, the burdens of the do-it-yourself application and delivery platforms are increasingly seen as non-strategic,” it said.

The report also said key drivers of on-demand software services result from macro-trends. Increasing mobility and global distribution of workforces was cited as one catalyst. “Companies are becoming dependent on mobile workers who are increasingly performing their jobs from home, on the road or from remote locations,” it said. “This is forcing companies to adopt new methods to coordinate those workers and allow them to safely access, share and act on information to perform their jobs.”

Corporate workforce expectations of business applications—higher standards of end-user experience, data access and productivity—were also reported to push for more on-demand services. “Traditional, on-premise software products, and even many vertical SaaS solutions were not designed to respond to needs of today’s business end-users,” Kaplan said. “Legacy applications lack the intuitive user interface, dynamic multi-user architecture and secure remote access features essential to satisfy a rapidly changing workplace.”

The expense and lengthy implementation of onsite applications were also cited as reasons for increased adoption. “Companies must generate a greater return on investment from their business applications by lowering total cost of ownership and increasing their utilization in order to achieve their corporate business objectives,” Kaplan said.