John Wood

Is Software as a Service a Threat to Microsoft?

You hear the term banded about quite a bit. Recently a Credit Suisse analyst suggested that Microsoft's revenue decline was a direct result of the pressure they're feeling from 'software as a service' against their foundation of desktop software.

But what does that mean exactly?

Regardless of formal definitions, the term Software as a Service (SAAS) appears to be used to refer to anything that is run over the web. So I can only imagine it has the following qualities:

1. SAAS is downloaded every time it's invoked. This means there is no need to install software locally, as there is in desktop software. It also means the software is always up to date. To use a software application you simply need the url. Contrast this to desktop software where you will need the url to download and install the software, and will then have to know how to launch it on subsequent uses. Desktop software also stays on your computer when you're no longer using it.

2. SAAS focuses on service more than user interface. It often utilizes a minimal subset of the desktop's capabilities, but no matter what the capabilities of the desktop the service will still be rendered. For example, JavaScript and Ajax allows for client-side functionality to be used if available. Yet another site that does not utilize Ajax is often available for browsers that don't have that capability.

3. SAAS is optimized for a client/server topology, where the majority of the processing occurs on the server and the client is used purely for display and interaction purposes. The benefit being an increase in reliability, because there are fewer compatibility issues and less network traffic. You can contrast this to the Application Service Provider model where typically fat-client applications are metamorphasized into a client/server architecture through terminal services or some other remote desktop technology. The result is usually a less than steller user experience.

4. SAAS applications are inherently safe. This is important in a world where the pool of available services is so broad that you really have no idea how trusted the source of the service actually is. Desktop software offers little in the way of security.

But lets say that you are a WinForms developer. You specialize in writing client, UI-rich applications. Perhaps you don't like developing in HTML because you think the platform is inferior and limits the user experience. Is there any life for you in this new 'software as a service' world?

We can certainly learn a lot from what has happened over the past 10 years. The Internet has redefined software. Instead of the emphasis being on the quality of a small set of applications, the emphasis is now on software accessibility. It's on a broad pool of diverse functionality and being able to quickly and easily access software from potentially millions of providers.

HTML has proven to be a good test bed for this new way of accessing and delivering software. But HTML is very limited. Perhaps the time has come to put the user experience back into the equation. Desktop applications provide a rich user interface experience. Nothing in the benefits of software as a service excludes the possibility of a rich user interface.

The answer that Microsoft have provided us is called ClickOnce.

ClickOnce technology (as found in .Net 2.0) provides a good bridge between the old-school desktop application and browser based web applications. Applications are installed on-demand from a url. They are updated automatically. They get removed from the user's machine if they're no longer used. They're safe.

By utilizing ClickOnce you really can reap the benefits of 'software as a service' while writing client, rich user interface applications - referred to as smart clients.

So, yes Software as a Service has been a threat to Microsoft's software foundation. But they're reacting by providing great solutions. While the competition are focusing on dumb-terminal platforms such as HTML, Microsoft are busy bringing the richness and maturity of their desktop technology foundation to the Internet and the new world order of 'software as a service'.