SaaS Glossary

SaaS sprawl is a problem that happens when a company’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) stack grows to a large and unmanageable size. It is also called “software sprawl.”

More often than not, SaaS sprawl can be unavoidable. Why? As a business grows, so does its need for digital tools. That means subscribing to an ever-increasing number of software over time, leading to SaaS sprawl, especially if the IT administrators need to learn about the purchases.

Cloud provisioning means allocating a cloud service provider’s resources to a customer. It is a key feature of cloud computing. It refers to how a client gets cloud services and resources from a provider. The cloud services that customers can subscribe to include infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), software-as-a-service (SaaS), and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) in public or private environments.

You can liken it to leasing an apartment instead of buying it. Instead of taking care of repairs and maintenance on your unit, you can rely on your landlord to do that for you since you are just renting the property.

Containers-as-a-service (CaaS) is a cloud-based service that lets software developers and IT teams upload, organize, run, scale, and manage containers using container-based virtualization. As a cloud-based service, a user can access and operate a CaaS solution even if he or she is not in the same location physically. A container, in this case, is a software package that comes with all the necessary components—code, runtime, configuration, and system libraries—so it can run on any host system.

It works a lot like platform-as-a-service (PaaS), except for the fact that CaaS uses containers.

A business needs paying customers for it to sustain itself and thrive. A company that offers software-as-a-service (SaaS) is no exception. The process of finding customers is called customer acquisition.

There are many ways a SaaS company can acquire new customers. These include launching promotional activities, sponsoring events, advertising, giving away freebies, partnering with complementary products and word-of-mouth marketing, just to name a few.

A baker, who makes the best pastries in town, gets defeated by his competitor in gaining customers. What he didn’t anticipate was that the latter offers personalized service and customer loyalty programs.

This is called customer retention. These are activities and actions companies take to make their service and products attractive enough for customers to return to.

There are several ways for a SaaS company to keep its customers, including continuous communication, providing exemplary customer service and incentives to long-time loyal subscribers.

Customer segmentation is a marketing activity where customers and prospects are grouped together according to one or more common characteristics.

Customer segmentation allows a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company to identify the primary need of a particular group of prospects, so they can craft a marketing message that resonates with the group. This tactic can increase the chances that subscribers would sign up for the service.

The Customer Success Manager's (CSM) is a person whose role is to respond, guide, and encourage customers to use the company's product.

The CSM is the customer's primary point of contact for any concerns about the service that a SaaS company provides. They should be able to provide the best customer experience possible and help with customer retention. An ideal CSM would also patiently study customer feedback to gain a business advantage.

A man reaches heaven and sees a widescreen monitor with tables and graphs evaluating his soul. The man remarks, “Well, it looks like our office’s dashboard. So I feel confident.”

A dashboard in SaaS refers to a software utility. This tool consolidates performance and usage statistics that may be relevant to the customer. The information is often presented as graphs, charts, and meters, as these are easier and quicker to understand. This design makes them similar to control panels of machinery or the dashboards of vehicles.

Data-as-a-service is a data management strategy built on the premise that data can be delivered to users on-demand via the cloud. Also known as “DaaS,” it joins the slew of as-a-service offerings that originated from the concept of software-as-a-service (SaaS), including Platform-as-a-service (PaaS), RPA-as-a-service (RPaaS), Testing-as-a-service (TaaS), Security-as-a-service, and Cybercrime-as-a-service (CaaS).

With data-as-a-service, users no longer have to install software locally for data storage, integration, and processing. Instead, data management is done in the cloud, like in all the other as-a-service technologies.

Digital human-as-a-service (DHaaS) refers to an artificial intelligence (AI) tech interface that looks, sounds, and behaves like real-life humans. The digital humans that DHaaS produces recognize and mimic human verbal and nonverbal cues, facial expressions, and tone of voice.

Digital humans can also converse with people naturally, answer questions, and gain realistic personal experiences that affect how they see the world. They typically look like avatars or AI-powered virtual persons that respond in real-time. Apart from replying and reacting to their environment, they also share knowledge and information.

You've heard of "try before you buy" schemes where you get to use a product or avail of a service for free. Then when you're convinced of its usefulness, you pay for it, and the company gives you extra merchandise or more services as well. Freemium is somewhat like that.

Freemium is a marketing strategy popular with Software as a Service (SaaS) companies. It implies letting people use the basic service for free, hoping that they will later appreciate the value. They then charge customers for additional features not part of the basic package.

Hadoop-as-a-service (HaaS) is a means for companies that don’t have the capacity to store and analyze massive amounts of data in-house to perform and benefit from big data analytics.

Hadoop is an open-source analytics framework that stores and analyzes big data in the cloud. But while any organization can use it free of charge, not all companies can create and maintain internal Hadoop environments. That would mean spending exorbitant amounts on storage devices and space, not to mention utilities, specifically electricity, and human resources, to operate and maintain the systems. The need for Hadoop and lack of resources and expertise gave way to the rise of HaaS.

HaaS users don’t need to invest in or install additional infrastructure on their premises to enjoy Hadoop’s benefits.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a model in cloud computing -- or the use of virtual servers on the Internet -- where computer hardware is supplied and managed by an external provider for enterprise operations. 

It’s basically offered to companies that need computer infrastructure but don’t want to deal with the difficulties of managing it.

Think of the IaaS service as a store that sells pre-configured computer systems to people. Rather than shop for each part individually and set up your own computer, all you have to do is go to the store, pay for the set you like, and start using it right away when you get home.

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” This is considered one of the most important quotes in business management today, and it underscores the importance of KPIs.

A key performance indicator (KPI) measures a company’s performance based on goals and objectives. For a SaaS company, KPIs often center on customer acquisition and retention.

For example, if you want to achieve a set of compliance goals before the year ends, you set out the parameters, or KPIs, which may include the number of rules that were met and not met and the rate of compliance for each team member.

That moment when you decide to sign up and be a customer of a SaaS company starts a process called customer onboarding.

SaaS customer onboarding is a critical phase in ensuring that a customer gets a good impression of the brand. As such, the initial touchpoints — signup forms, documentation, terms of use, etc. — must be organized, user-friendly, and not ask too much information that can cause the customer to turn the page.

Successful SaaS customer onboarding is key to customer retention, renewal, and upgrade.

Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a business model where the product is a cloud-based application development platform. It lets customers develop and run their own applications. Using PaaS allows them to avoid building the infrastructure and spend money on the components and tools they would normally need in order to build their apps.

To put it simply, if you wanted to bake a cake you'd need to buy all the utensils and equipment, and require a suitable kitchen as well. If there were a PaaS for baking, all you'd need to do is rent the kitchen with everything you need in there to bake your cake.

A product manager in a SaaS company is a person responsible for defining and coordinating all the activities to bring the software product to market.

A product manager typically creates the business strategy behind the product, develops the product specifications, and manages how features are rolled out.

RAP-as-a-service refers to a business model where the product or service aids in implementing a risk assessment program (RAP). A RAP is a set of tools and procedures that help IT professionals assess potential and existing risks.

RAP-as-a-service enables organizations to check the health of their IT environment. For instance, the service compares an organization’s cybersecurity policy implementation against industry standards or regulatory requirements. From there, it can identify gaps in tools or processes and present ways to remediate them.

Robotic process automation-as-a-service (RPAaaS) is a form of outsourcing where a service provider deploys a cloud-based software robot that uses automation, machine learning (ML), and computer vision to help clients accomplish repetitive and high-volume tasks. Often, these tasks are trigger-driven and rule-based. The RPAaaS software is responsible for all automation tasks without much involvement on the clients’ part.

Most businesses use RPA-as-a-service to scale their operations. With it, they can increase their revenue without the proportional increase in cost.

Remember those 'old school' floppy discs which you load into your computer every time you need to access a software application? Well, there's now a better way to do that these days. It's called software as a service.

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a business model where software is licensed to paying subscribers. The software application is hosted in a central location on the Internet, and subscribers connect to a website to be able to use the software. This type of distribution model is sometimes referred to as "Software On Demand."

SSPM, short for “SaaS Security Posture Management,” is the continuous monitoring of cloud-based SaaS applications automatically. With it, companies can minimize misconfigurations in programs, including Slack, Salesforce, and Microsoft 365. That helps security and IT teams ensure compliance.

SSPM can prevent credential theft, network performance issues, and malware infection targeting SaaS applications.

Testing-as-a-service (TaaS) is an outsourcing model wherein software testing activities are done by third-party providers. While some tests may be done in-house, most specialized tests are often outsourced to more capable service providers.

TaaS may involve getting consultants who are well-versed in handling tests by simulating real-world environments, enabling them to find software bugs. But it can also take the form of a pay-as-you-go service.

TaaS is necessary for IT companies with a pressing need to test and inspect their cloud environments and infrastructure to evaluate business performance, operations, and security. Often, the main goal is to find security vulnerabilities inside one’s network to optimize a program’s or service’s overall performance.

Video-as-a-service refers to a hosted service that allows customers to make video calls over the Internet using the provider’s infrastructure. The communication can take place between two individuals in different locations (point-to-point) or between more than two people and devices (multipoint). The service is mostly hosted in the cloud, so users don’t have to download an application to use the service.

Video-as-a-service is also known as “VaaS” or “video conferencing-as-a-service (VCaaS)” and considered a segment of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) sector. In fact, the VaaS share of the overall SaaS market has steadily increased over the past years. In the first quarter of 2020, for example, the VaaS segment accounted for 34% of the entire SaaS market.

Workspace-as-a-service is a virtual workspace that provides employees access to the same work-related resources they could if they were in the office physically. These resources could include corporate data and applications accessible anywhere using Internet-connected devices.

Workspace-as-a-service is usually provided by third parties through the cloud. Some major players in the industry include Amazon Workspaces, Citrix Workspace, Google Workspace, Workspace ONE, and Windows Virtual Desktop. The technology gives employees the flexibility to work anywhere as long as they can access the remote cloud system of their company. 

XaaS stands for “everything-as-a-service.” It is a collective term that refers to the delivery of a wide variety of technology products and tools. Just like in Algebra, X could be anything and everything.

The premise of XaaS is that any function involving the Internet can be turned into a service for the consumption of enterprises. For instance, instead of setting up your own servers, you can get the services of virtual private server providers. The same is true for other IT needs. Some examples of XaaS are software-as-a-service (SaaS), infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), and platform-as-a-service (PaaS).