We have had a look at why and how Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is evolving into a more powerful and versatile avtaar, called Software + Service (S+S).  So what enabled this shift to S+S? The answer lies in the catalyst/s that are driving the new S + S approach. S +S, as we know, combines the best aspects of client software, on-premise servers and Internet-delivered services.

And the one key catalyst is, what I call, The Cheap Revolution: cheap computing; cheap storage and cheap communication and connectivity. Let’s salute Moore (Moore’s Law) for his predictions decades earlier which still hold true. The ever increasing cheaper processing power has been a powerful enabler towards the feasibility of S + S, in addition to new developments in computing.   When did ‘cheap’ ever sound so good? 

Firstly, the cost of computing is going down. The overall cost of hardware and processing power is reducing drastically. We hear that Intel wants to make a new chip , which will hold laser, modulator and light detector – all made on silicon, while reducing the chip cost. This would drastically reduce the cost of Internet bandwidth and also mean yet more speed for computers.  Advancements in technology such as the integration of the whole Central Processing Unit (CPU) onto a single VLSI chip greatly reduced the cost of processing capacity. Further, the cheaper processing power has seen cost of electronic s goods go down – making it available to a large cross section of people.

The second catalyst is the cost of storage which is also seeing a dramatic downward trend, in the last five years. The common household term to describe storage capacity has evolved from Mega Bytes to Giga Bytes to Tera Bytes in a span of few years. Further, advancements in grid technology too has multiple data storage benefits. Scalability is an important benefit.  Every storage node contains one or more terabytes of disk storage capacity, as well as CPU processing power.

In effect, grid computing has helped in the growth of data storage and its resultant reduced prices. ‘Cheap storage’ enables large chunks of data to be stored on client software.  Reduction in the cost of storage has enabled companies to set up gigantic data centres that act as warehouses in the supply chain of information technology.

And the third force is the one that connects the computer and storage, bandwidth. The reduction in the cost bandwidth is due to increase in  volumes. High speed connectivity is available at lower costs each year, though not in the same linear or exponential manner as other two.

So when you factor all three things; cost of storage, computing and connectivity; then you see that it is creating an ecosystem which tells you where people are going to consume applications; and which ones are going to be on the cloud. So the decision to opt for online or on-premise is aided by an over all cost reduction. 

While all the three catalysts have aided the growth of S+S, it is the diverse client software enabled by cheap computing which is a critical link in the S +S dynamic model, a cornerstone for the success of S+S.  

Today’s customer not only wants to click and run any application, no matter where it resides, they also want to use the rich processing power and computing capacity in their phones, their laptops, their desktops and yes, their televisions sets. So it’s a foregone conclusion that affordability will drive the S + S model and a best-of-both-the-world experience.

My next blog will be on what more does S+S offer than the existing services