Thursday, March 28, 2024

Software as a Service Seen Sprouting Legs

Datamation content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

The market for software piped over the Internet as a service reached an all-time high of $4.2 billion in 2004. That sum was nearly 40 percent greater than the total in 2003, according to IDC.

Like its Web services (define) cousin, software as a service (SaaS), in which applications are piped over the Internet at a customer’s behest, has snowballed in popularity.

Companies like Salesforce.com, Siebel, Grand Central Networks and Rearden Commerce are charging into the market opportunity, proposing automated software delivery methods as an attractive alternative to the traditional method of buying packaged applications and downloading them.

Buyers from small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) and divisions of larger companies are the most frequent customers of software as a service, according to IDC.

There is no doubt that software as a service has become a driving force within the software industry, said research analyst Erin Traudt. “Indications are that customer adoption will continue over the next five years and spending will remain on the rise.”

Traudt said in her report that software as a service will grow steadily at more than 20 percent a year until it tops $10.7 million by 2009. Growth will be driven by new products, customer goals to boost business processes, and new programs to help independent software vendors (ISVs) write software as a service.

Salesforce.com and Siebel are among the first companies to find success with the SaaS distribution model.

Grand Central is another. It offers software integration on-demand.

Rearden launched last winter, professing to be an “Internet concierge” that brings services
to corporate employees on demand.

This story was first published on internetnews.com, a JupiterWeb site. To read the entire article, click here.

Subscribe to Data Insider

Learn the latest news and best practices about data science, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, data security, and more.

Similar articles

Get the Free Newsletter!

Subscribe to Data Insider for top news, trends & analysis

Latest Articles