what is saas

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. SaaS is also known as on-demand software, web-based software, or web-hosted software. SaaS is considered to be part of cloud computing, along with several other as-a-service business models. In the SaaS model, users access software applications over the internet, rather than installing and maintaining software on their own computers. SaaS provides a complete software solution that you purchase on a pay-as-you-go basis from a cloud service provider. You rent the use of an app for your organization, and your users connect to it over the internet, usually with a web browser. SaaS apps are typically accessed by users of a web browser (a thin client) . SaaS became a common delivery model for many business applications, including office software, messaging software, payroll processing software, DBMS software, management software, CAD software, development software, gamification, virtualization, accounting, collaboration, customer relationship management (CRM), management information systems (MIS), enterprise resource planning (ERP), invoicing, field service management, human resource management (HRM), talent acquisition, learning management systems (LMS), and more.