Comments on: Taxonomy of SaaS Platforms http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/ Understanding the Software as a Service Revolution Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:30:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: SaaS Blogs - » Demystifying The Cloud: Where Do SaaS, PaaS and Other Acronyms Fit In? http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-74732 SaaS Blogs - » Demystifying The Cloud: Where Do SaaS, PaaS and Other Acronyms Fit In? Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:53:47 +0000 http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-74732 [...] with Amazon’s EC2 or now with Microsoft’s Azure. For any long time readers, I wrote a taxonomy article a while back that distilled SaaS Platforms (which have materialized under the PaaS banner as of [...] […] with Amazon’s EC2 or now with Microsoft’s Azure. For any long time readers, I wrote a taxonomy article a while back that distilled SaaS Platforms (which have materialized under the PaaS banner as of […]

]]> By: Sinclair Schuller http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-4607 Sinclair Schuller Wed, 09 May 2007 17:58:58 +0000 http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-4607 Hi, Thanks for the comment. ASP was generally a situation where an application was hosted single instance, single tenant. Imagine hosting something like Word or Excel and streaming it for a single tenant or subscriber and streaming it or simply slapping a web frontend and relaying functional requests. ASP can be categorized as SaaS. Today's SaaS is much more flexible, much more tenant aware allowing for tenant customization, etc. and is generally web-native. A good link is the Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_as_a_Service Hi, Thanks for the comment. ASP was generally a situation where an application was hosted single instance, single tenant. Imagine hosting something like Word or Excel and streaming it for a single tenant or subscriber and streaming it or simply slapping a web frontend and relaying functional requests. ASP can be categorized as SaaS. Today’s SaaS is much more flexible, much more tenant aware allowing for tenant customization, etc. and is generally web-native.

A good link is the Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_as_a_Service

]]> By: widjaja http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-4598 widjaja Wed, 09 May 2007 16:03:40 +0000 http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-4598 hi. thanx for the article.. however, the more i read SaaS and try to understand it, the more i got confuse hehe so, what the difference of SaaS and ASP? is it in ASP the customer is treated as an instance? is it single instance or single tenant? and my last questions are what are the model to deliver SaaS? and what the technology behind it?? if it to broad to discuss it in this blong,could u give me some links to extend my knowladge? thanx u before hi. thanx for the article..
however, the more i read SaaS and try to understand it, the more i got confuse hehe

so, what the difference of SaaS and ASP? is it in ASP the customer is treated as an instance? is it single instance or single tenant?
and my last questions are what are the model to deliver SaaS? and what the technology behind it??

if it to broad to discuss it in this blong,could u give me some links to extend my knowladge?
thanx u before

]]> By: SaaS Blogs - » A Different Angle on Platform Flavors http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-897 SaaS Blogs - » A Different Angle on Platform Flavors Tue, 30 Jan 2007 15:21:10 +0000 http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-897 [...] Phil Wainewright just posted a breakdown on SaaS platform/ecosystem flavors titled “What flavor is your ecosystem?” His breakdown is at a slightly different angle and a finer grain than my article categorizing platforms. The categorization seems to classify ecosystems and platforms based on implementation mechanism, which is an excellent categorization in its own right. At the end of the article, he states that “The most successful ecosystems will be those that offer the most popular balance between convenience and flexibility” which is a distilled and parallel version of an article I wrote awhile back regarding SaaS enablement selection and flexibility vs. transparency (It seems that according to Wainewright, convenience comes at a price, namely loss of transparency and a higher lock-in/coupling flavor with the enablement technology). I agree with Wainewright 100%. My bets are on flexibility. Although convenience can be a powerful thing, our industry has learned (I hope) from the effects of unnatural lock-in and random introduction of technologies that “go against the grain” already defined by the industry. The best solutions are those that get the job done with no added baggage. This does not, however, mean that convenience needs to be abandoned. Convenience can be delivered in a fashion that maximizes flexibility. [...] […] Phil Wainewright just posted a breakdown on SaaS platform/ecosystem flavors titled “What flavor is your ecosystem?” His breakdown is at a slightly different angle and a finer grain than my article categorizing platforms. The categorization seems to classify ecosystems and platforms based on implementation mechanism, which is an excellent categorization in its own right. At the end of the article, he states that “The most successful ecosystems will be those that offer the most popular balance between convenience and flexibility” which is a distilled and parallel version of an article I wrote awhile back regarding SaaS enablement selection and flexibility vs. transparency (It seems that according to Wainewright, convenience comes at a price, namely loss of transparency and a higher lock-in/coupling flavor with the enablement technology). I agree with Wainewright 100%. My bets are on flexibility. Although convenience can be a powerful thing, our industry has learned (I hope) from the effects of unnatural lock-in and random introduction of technologies that “go against the grain” already defined by the industry. The best solutions are those that get the job done with no added baggage. This does not, however, mean that convenience needs to be abandoned. Convenience can be delivered in a fashion that maximizes flexibility. […]

]]> By: SaaS Blogs - » The Evolution of SaaS http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-577 SaaS Blogs - » The Evolution of SaaS Mon, 08 Jan 2007 14:33:56 +0000 http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-577 [...] Regardless of whether one believes that Darwinian evolution is how the species of this planet came to be, most will agree that the premise and underlying structure of evolution is both powerful and to some degree measurable in the real world. One of the most important things to ask IS “Why study history and why attempt to understand the underpinnings of our origins?” The answer, in my opinion, is simple: we study history to mitigate risk in the present and future, and build on a foundation of measurable results. That said, understanding how SaaS came to be, and where it’s heading with the powerful concepts of the SaaS Platform and ecosystem. This complements one of my earlier posts regarding the categorization of SaaS, and I’m definitely looking for input as I view the unfolding of these definitions a communal effort. [...] […] Regardless of whether one believes that Darwinian evolution is how the species of this planet came to be, most will agree that the premise and underlying structure of evolution is both powerful and to some degree measurable in the real world. One of the most important things to ask IS “Why study history and why attempt to understand the underpinnings of our origins?” The answer, in my opinion, is simple: we study history to mitigate risk in the present and future, and build on a foundation of measurable results. That said, understanding how SaaS came to be, and where it’s heading with the powerful concepts of the SaaS Platform and ecosystem. This complements one of my earlier posts regarding the categorization of SaaS, and I’m definitely looking for input as I view the unfolding of these definitions a communal effort. […]

]]> By: asultan http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-489 asultan Mon, 01 Jan 2007 01:02:32 +0000 http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-489 Hi Vibjor, I think your question will make for a great post and it would be nice to see Sinclair right one about it, but in the meantime here is a short answer: In short, Multi-Instance is very different than Multi-Tenant. In fact when talking about SaaS, they can be discussed independently. Let me start by clarifying a couple of terms for you. Customer: A single entity that uses an application. It can also be considered an organization, company or group of people. Single-Tenant Application: An application is considered to be Single-Tenant when it is build to handle one customer at a time. For example: Traditional software is written to be Single-Tenant because traditionally one would buy software and install it on premise to be used by the purchasing entity. Multi-Tenant Application: An application is considered to be Multi-Tenant when it is built to handle many customers at a time. These types of applications are a lot harder to write than traditional applications because you have to take into account data separation so that each customer only sees their data, provisioning, etc. Single-Instance: As the name implies, Single-Instance means that there is only one instance. In the context of Software it means that there is only one instance of the application. Multi-Instance: Opposite to Single-Instance, Multi-Instance means that there are multiple instances of an application. Now that the definitions are out the way, here is the answer: To achieve the best economies of scale and benefit from all the benefits of SaaS, a true SaaS application should be Single-Instance and Multi-Tenant. Meaning that one instance of the application should be able to handle more than one tenant (also known as Customer). To specifically answer your questions, Multi-Instance shouldn’t come up when talking about SaaS except of when you are talking about having multiple instances of specific services for scaling purposes. In my opinion a SaaS platform should be able to handle the Single-Instance, Multi-Tenancy part of the equation as long as the application is written in a fashion that can allow for this, for example SOA. For your second question: I don’t think it is a pre-requisite that the platform is written as SOA to achieve multi-tenancy for applications but again you would be lacking all of the benefits of SOA and depending on the goal of your platform it would be very hard to achieve the results if it is not SOA. What I mean by depending on the goal of the platform is that some platforms are meant to support one application and in this case you might be able to get away without writing it SOA but if the platform if meant to support more than one application then I think it will be hard to achieve the results and the scale necessary if it is not written as SOA. I hope this helps and answers your questions and hopefully Sinclair can write a post about this. Regards and have a Happy New Year, Abe Sultan Hi Vibjor,

I think your question will make for a great post and it would be nice to see Sinclair right one about it, but in the meantime here is a short answer:

In short, Multi-Instance is very different than Multi-Tenant. In fact when talking about SaaS, they can be discussed independently.

Let me start by clarifying a couple of terms for you.

Customer: A single entity that uses an application. It can also be considered an organization, company or group of people.

Single-Tenant Application: An application is considered to be Single-Tenant when it is build to handle one customer at a time. For example: Traditional software is written to be Single-Tenant because traditionally one would buy software and install it on premise to be used by the purchasing entity.

Multi-Tenant Application: An application is considered to be Multi-Tenant when it is built to handle many customers at a time. These types of applications are a lot harder to write than traditional applications because you have to take into account data separation so that each customer only sees their data, provisioning, etc.

Single-Instance: As the name implies, Single-Instance means that there is only one instance. In the context of Software it means that there is only one instance of the application.

Multi-Instance: Opposite to Single-Instance, Multi-Instance means that there are multiple instances of an application.

Now that the definitions are out the way, here is the answer: To achieve the best economies of scale and benefit from all the benefits of SaaS, a true SaaS application should be Single-Instance and Multi-Tenant. Meaning that one instance of the application should be able to handle more than one tenant (also known as Customer).

To specifically answer your questions, Multi-Instance shouldn’t come up when talking about SaaS except of when you are talking about having multiple instances of specific services for scaling purposes. In my opinion a SaaS platform should be able to handle the Single-Instance, Multi-Tenancy part of the equation as long as the application is written in a fashion that can allow for this, for example SOA.

For your second question: I don’t think it is a pre-requisite that the platform is written as SOA to achieve multi-tenancy for applications but again you would be lacking all of the benefits of SOA and depending on the goal of your platform it would be very hard to achieve the results if it is not SOA. What I mean by depending on the goal of the platform is that some platforms are meant to support one application and in this case you might be able to get away without writing it SOA but if the platform if meant to support more than one application then I think it will be hard to achieve the results and the scale necessary if it is not written as SOA.

I hope this helps and answers your questions and hopefully Sinclair can write a post about this.

Regards and have a Happy New Year,

Abe Sultan

]]> By: Vibhor Jain http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-488 Vibhor Jain Sat, 30 Dec 2006 10:10:57 +0000 http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-488 After reading few articles, few blogs I came across lot of jargon... SaaS, SOA, service delivery platform, multi-instance vs. multi-tenancy etc. etc. most either talk about platform or about application but none about all this in one single article giving clear picture of what connects all these things... What is still not clear to me is: - When we talk about multi-instance vs. muli-tenancy, are we talking about the application or is it the platform too which needs to be multi-tenant - Is it enough for just application to be multi-tenant in order to deliver successful SaaS application or is it so that underlying platform also need to be SOA oriented at the same time ? I am not so technical person, so please if someone could clarify in simple words After reading few articles, few blogs I came across lot of jargon… SaaS, SOA, service delivery platform, multi-instance vs. multi-tenancy etc. etc. most either talk about platform or about application but none about all this in one single article giving clear picture of what connects all these things…

What is still not clear to me is:

- When we talk about multi-instance vs. muli-tenancy, are we talking about the application or is it the platform too which needs to be multi-tenant
- Is it enough for just application to be multi-tenant in order to deliver successful SaaS application or is it so that underlying platform also need to be SOA oriented at the same time ?

I am not so technical person, so please if someone could clarify in simple words

]]> By: Sharad Sharma http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-487 Sharad Sharma Sat, 30 Dec 2006 05:31:49 +0000 http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-487 Good post! As you suggest, the SaaS saga is “still unfolding”. Right now we are at the stage where SaaS is displacing the old work horses in large and medium scale enterprises. But ultimately it will not be about replacing horse carriages by cars (although that will happen), but about making a Model T affordable to a whole new class of buyers. I believe that the focus in SaaS will gradually move away from selling to large and medium enterprises to selling to networks of micro-firms. Growth, innovation and value creation will happen at this new edge. Do keep this transition in mind as you develop your taxonomy. Good post! As you suggest, the SaaS saga is “still unfolding”. Right now we are at the stage where SaaS is displacing the old work horses in large and medium scale enterprises. But ultimately it will not be about replacing horse carriages by cars (although that will happen), but about making a Model T affordable to a whole new class of buyers. I believe that the focus in SaaS will gradually move away from selling to large and medium enterprises to selling to networks of micro-firms. Growth, innovation and value creation will happen at this new edge. Do keep this transition in mind as you develop your taxonomy.

]]> By: Sinclair Schuller http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-486 Sinclair Schuller Thu, 28 Dec 2006 21:43:24 +0000 http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-486 Hi. Well, I don't think they directly fit the platform definition described in the article. Here is a link describing their Optiaml On-Demand service: http://www.opsource.net/solutions/ds_optimalod.pdf Really, their value proposition is based on outsourced operations for your SaaS business (servers, staff, support). They do not provide a software layer that provides you with SaaS tenets like multi-tenancy and data partitioning, the vendor needs to develop that. Hi. Well, I don’t think they directly fit the platform definition described in the article. Here is a link describing their Optiaml On-Demand service:
http://www.opsource.net/solutions/ds_optimalod.pdf

Really, their value proposition is based on outsourced operations for your SaaS business (servers, staff, support). They do not provide a software layer that provides you with SaaS tenets like multi-tenancy and data partitioning, the vendor needs to develop that.

]]> By: vibhorj http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-485 vibhorj Thu, 28 Dec 2006 19:26:37 +0000 http://www.saasblogs.com/2006/12/27/taxonomy-of-saas-platforms/#comment-485 Thanks for the article. It was quite usefull and understandeable even to not-so-technical person (like me ;-)) I hear about some SaaS Enables for ex. OpSource. Under what category you will categorize their platform ? Probabaly General Purpose Platforms...? Thanks for the article. It was quite usefull and understandeable even to not-so-technical person (like me ;-))

I hear about some SaaS Enables for ex. OpSource. Under what category you will categorize their platform ? Probabaly General Purpose Platforms…?

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