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UPSC Essentials: One Word A Day- SaaS
Essential concepts, terms and phenomena from the static part of the UPSC-CSE syllabus.
SaaS is an important term to know which provides many advantages over traditional software models. Aspirants need to know this term for the Science and Technology part of the syllabus.
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Word: SaaS
Subject: Science and Technology
What is SaaS?
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Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is a software licensing model. It allows access to software on a subscription basis using external servers. As its important feature, SaaS allows each user to access programs via the Internet. The user need not install the software on his/her computer. The rise of SaaS and cloud-based computing go hand in hand.
What are the benefits of using SaaS?
SaaS has many business applications. It includes file sharing, email, calendars, customer retention management, and human resources. It is easy to implement, update and debug. Moreover, it is not very costly as users pay for SaaS instead of purchasing multiple software licenses for multiple computers. This is a very cost-effective advantage. SaaS allows users to access the software through a web browser from multiple locations. He or she can have remote desktop software and can work from home.
What are the disadvantages of SaaS?
Major disadvantages of SaaS consist of security risks, slower speed, lack of customization, lack of control and lack of customization.
Point to ponder: What are some of the examples of SaaS? What is cloud computing?
(Source: investopedia.com)
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