Software As A Service (SAAS)

In the past software has been defined as an application that you run on your personal computer. Software as a service gives a customer the ability to free memory and run the application through the cloud. There can also be drawbacks, if there is no internet connection, or if your internet connection is slow or not consistent.

The three Saasa programs that we examined for class are: Microsoft 365, Zoho, and Google Docs.

Microsoft 365 is much like the Microsoft Office Suite, which is offered as a packaged software. The advantage of the Microsoft 365 SAAS is how close it is to the actual suite. This will have a small learning curve as many people have already used the Microsoft Office suite. Along with the familiar settings, the base of people users who use Microsoft Office will more likely use Microsoft 365 as opposed to other similar SAAS applications.

Zoho has an interface that is very intuitive and user friendly. The advantages of this SAAS is that it has the option to add shapes in the presentation portion, and change themes very easily. I like the usability of this application the best of the three SAAS programs. All the options are very easy to do if you wanted to create a watermark or other features that are not typical of other word processing applications.

Google Docs is a SAAS program that I use on a regular basis. I like the fact that this SAAS lets you convert to Office extensions. Also many of my friends already have a Google Account and can be easily added to documents and presentations. There are collaborative settings where a user can change different aspects of a document, while another user can also change it. Google Docs allows for the user to create forms and drawings, something that the other two SAAS did not allow for.

After reviewing the three programs, I think SAAS is where the future of software will be headed. As the internet becomes more readily available, more users will want to access their documents online and it makes it more convenient to share and collaborate with others.