Describe Software as a Service

Completed

Software as a service (SaaS) is the most complete cloud service model from a product perspective. With SaaS, you’re essentially renting or using a fully developed application. Email, financial software, messaging applications, and connectivity software are all common examples of a SaaS implementation.

While the SaaS model may be the least flexible, it’s also the easiest to get up and running. It requires the least amount of technical knowledge or expertise to fully employ.

Shared responsibility model

The shared responsibility model applies to all the cloud service types. SaaS is the model that places the most responsibility with the cloud provider and the least responsibility with the user. In a SaaS environment you’re responsible for the data that you put into the system, the devices that you allow to connect to the system, and the users that have access. Nearly everything else falls to the cloud provider. The cloud provider is responsible for physical security of the datacenters, power, network connectivity, and application development and patching.

Diagram showing the responsibilities of the shared responsibility model.

Scenarios

Some common scenarios for SaaS are:

  • Email and messaging.
  • Business productivity applications.
  • Finance and expense tracking.