SaaS, PaaS & IaaS: Exploring the Different Models of Software Development - Essay Sample

Introduction

SaaS refers to a software development model that makes use of the web to deliver applications, especially on an "as needed" basis (Rani & Ranjan, 2014). It usually runs on the internet, instead of the computer of a customer. SaaS is accessed through a web browser. PaaS refers to a set of services and tools that are designed for coding purposes and using applications quickly and efficiently (Rani & Ranjan, 2014). IaaS is a software and hardware that power all including networks, servers, and operating systems (Rani & Ranjan, 2014).

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Items That an Organization’s IT / IS Department Should Consider

There are various items that the IT or information system department of an organization needs to consider are such as broad network access. This involves the ability to access the service through the use of standard platforms such as laptops, mobile, and desktop. On-demand self-service includes the ability of users to sign up and gain services in the absence of long delays. The next item is resource pooling, where various resources in the company are pooled together throughout various customers. Measured service is vital in the IT department, where billing is metered and delivered in the form of utility service.

Reducing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

PaaS, SaaS, and IaaS may be applied in the reduction of the total cost of ownership (TCO) in various ways. First, they facilitate less expenditure on hardware. They can also ensure less spending on human resources in an organization (Martens et al., 2012). Lastly, they allow an organization to spend less money, especially in software and development.

Return on Investment (ROI)

The PaaS, SaaS, and IaaS may be used to increase return on investment (ROI) via the enhanced ability to create new competitive offerings, high-margin multi-tenancy technology, and opportunities for an open market. The various ways of increasing ROI may involve offering a more extensive choice of services, greater financial flexibility, cost-effective scalability, and increased business agility (Kornevs et al., 2012). It may also include enhanced security and high availability with service level agreements.

Impact on the IT Support Personnel

When a company embarks on the approaches, it will offer end users a chance to sign up and get services in the absence of prolonged delays. If the company considers broad network access, it will be allowed access to services through laptops, desktops, and mobile, among others. The ability to pool resources together throughout various customers is considered a significant asset to the company.

Considerations

The management of an organization needs to be aware of considerations, such as knowing the existing architecture. This focuses on the understanding that IT is in place, whether it replaced the leaving architecture and whether it developed its information technology architecture from scratch. It should consider the assessment of financial concerns such as quantification of risks, costs, and benefits. A firm may also consider continuing benefits and dollar costs and the required life cycles of system elements (Pearlson). The management of the company needs to assess the technical issues by setting clear boundaries between infrastructure components.

Security Issues

The security concerns that potentially arise from the kind of infrastructure include rogue users (IaaS), data encryption (PaaS), and password management (SaaS).

References

Kornevs, M., Minkevica, V., & Holm, M. (2012). Cloud computing evaluation based on financial metrics. Information Technology and Management Science, 15(1), 87-92.

Martens, B., Walterbusch, M., & Teuteberg, F. (2012, January). Costing of cloud computing services: A total cost of ownership approach. In 2012 45th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (pp. 1563-1572). IEEE.

Rani, D., & Ranjan, R. K. (2014). A comparative study of SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS in cloud computing. International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science and Software Engineering, 4(6).