Software As A Service

Software as a Service

Most of NeoNexus’ offerings use the “Software as a Service” model.
What exactly is Software as a Service (SaaS)? SaaS means that software is put on a web server, and the users access the software by using a computer with an internet browser. Typically, a monthly fee is charged instead of buying the software up front. Is SaaS better than the traditional model? Yes, it provides better stability and lower cost.

Stability

Since the personal computer market exploded in the 1980′s, the traditional software model has been to sell the user software th

at must be installed on individual computers. In order to use this type of software, the user must be able to install and maintain the software themselves, or be able to call in IT professionals to do it for them. In the 1980′s world of stable Disk Operating Systems (DOS), few hardware peripherals, and a small handful of software companies, this was not a significant problem, and managing your own software was fairly easy. But after a decade of the famous Windows “blue screen of death”, the thousands of different variables between different software packages, operating systems, databases and code objects, the rise of security issues requiring antivirus, firewall, and spyware programs, and the ability to connect just about any electronic device to a personal computer, the challenge of maintaining software on personal computers is now quite significant and expensive. To save costs, many large companies have moved to standardized desktops where employees are limited or even forbidden from installing any unapproved software since it might conflict with something already on the machine. All of us have at least one horror story where a simple 10 minutes software install turned into a major ordeal.

The solution to this problem is to reduce and eliminate most of the variables. This is accomplished by putting the software on a web server, and allowing the users to access the software with a browser. The ONLY thing the user needs is a functioning internet browser (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Foxfire, Netscape) and a few plug-ins like Adobe Acrobat Reader. The web server doesn’t care what hardware or software is running on the user’s machine.

All of NeoNexus’ applications are located on dedicated servers using Linux operating systems. There are no secondary software applications like MS Office, there are no scanner drivers, free WalMart photo software, pop-up blockers, or any other files that are not necessary to run the application. We can’t promise zero stability problems (yet!), but we can guarantee that our application will have less problems than running software on your own PC. You will spend less time with tech support, and more time managing your data.

Cost

The cost of managing enterprise level data is not limited to the software. A client needs a database, an application to work with the database, hardware to run the application and database, infrastructure to support multiple user access, and access to the technical expertise to maintain the system. The days of one “computer guy” are gone. Enterprise clients need database administrators, operating system and hardware experts, network experts, and security experts. All of these are specialized skills.

For small companies, the cost is prohibitive, and they typically settle for less sophisticated software packages or expect employees to process data in Microsoft Excel. For larger companies, they can afford the overhead, but is it the best use of their resources?

The SaaS model allows users to access powerful software without their own server hardware, and they don’t need an IT department with specialized skills. The SaaS provider takes care of all of those concerns, and the user just needs a PC with a browser. And similar to how electric companies charge for electricity, the SaaS user only pays for what he needs:no more no less. So, a small company of 10 people can access the same software as a Fortune 500 company. The Fortune 500 company pays more since they may have 10,000 users instead of 10, but the functionality is the same.

Intuit, one of the largest financial software manufacturers, already has several SaaS offerings. You can still buy TurboTax and Quickbooks for local installation, or you can access the software on-line as SaaS. The SaaS costs less, of course, because it is cheaper for Intuit to maintain, so they pass the savings to the customer. IBM has invested enormous amounts of money into data centers to support companies as they start leveraging the SaaS model, and Oracle is also offering some SaaS services.

NeoNexus believes SaaS is the future of the software industry. It allows us to deliver maximum value to our customers at the right price.

Located in Charleston, WV and Wilmington, NC, We offer professional custom software development services at affordable prices.