Big Players Scramble to Provide Software as a Service (SaaS) Technologies: New Interest in Riding SaaS Wave Proves Value of WebApps’ Delivery Model

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. —November 16, 2006— WebApps, Inc., a leading provider of Software as a Service (SaaS), with a major push in Time and Labor Management, offers Software as a Service (SaaS) enablement solutions that are now beginning to gain popularity with the better-known, public companies in the software world. Although SaaS applications are only just beginning to receive recognition as a driving force in the software arena, smaller SaaS providers, such as WebApps, have been offering SaaS options for several years now.

Recently, in light of findings by several technology-focused research institutions that SaaS solutions are rapidly becoming more popular based on greater user acceptance, several of today’s big players have chosen to jump on the SaaS bandwagon. Most recently, Microsoft announced, as covered by ConnectIT on November 9, 2006, that it would offer its ERP software, Dynamics, under the hosted subscription-licensing model, typical of most SaaS offerings. The fact that Microsoft, along with other noteworthy software companies worldwide, is offering solutions based on the SaaS model is further proof that pure web-based alternatives are as worthy of recognition as their client-installed counterparts.

“Although SaaS is a fairly new phenomenon in terms of software deployment options on a larger scale, smaller companies offering web-based applications have been in existence for some years now,” commented Alexandra Quintero, a Senior Application Specialist with WebApps. “In fact, the ‘subscription’ model has been around for more than 20 years, with institutions such as Payroll Service Bureaus acting as providers of solutions that can be compared to SaaS. The fact that more well-known companies are offering such options is essentially providing an endorsement for the delivery model.”

While the software industry in general may be ready to accept SaaS as a viable alternative to client-installed options, customers of these solutions may be hesitant to rely completely on something new. To help alleviate some of the pressures that may prevent a user from considering SaaS, the following points should be given attention:

·Data Security and Accessibility – How secure is the facility where the application is hosted and collected data is stored? Consider things such as redundancy, frequency of backups, and depth of security.
·User Interface – How is the information that is collected able to be viewed and used by the user of the application? Typically, the collection of data is not the issue. However, the ways in which that data can be used is important to determine.
·Scalability – How can the application address a growing user base? Applications should be as functional as their installed counterparts, yet easily scaled back or expanded in order to create a solution that is a perfect fit for a particular organization.

WebApps has been a leader in the SaaS space since 2001, offering On Demand solutions that reduce costs, eliminate the need for IT resources onsite, and offer a similar level of functionality as many client-installed alternatives. With the goal of providing a stronger balance between higher-level automation and ease-of-use, quicker implementation times and an improved customer experiences are achieved.

About SaaS -
The SaaS model is predicated on a one-to-many or multi-client deployment, whereby an application is shared across customers. This centralized approach towards code management reduces implementation, training, and ongoing support time while minimizing business risk for service providers. End-users benefit from single-source accountability that typically leads to a successful software rollout at a lower total cost of ownership. Also commonly known as an On Demand model, customers pay for system usage on a recurring basis for a broad spectrum of applications.

About WebApps, Inc. -
WebApps is a leading developer of web-based business applications for improving human productivity and organizational processes in the workplace. Delivering Software as a Service (SaaS), client sensitive data is collected, processed, and stored remotely without the need for technical resources on site. Software features are easily expanded or scaled back, making it easier to support a variety of size and industry specific clients with a single platform. Under a pay-as-you-go model, clients gain access to software that is more intuitive, easier to deploy, and offers lower total cost of ownership than client-installed software - www.SaaS.com.

###