Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) has been an idea twitching to blossom since the advent of the Internet. For example, when Hotmail first appeared on the Web in 1996, instead of just offering data and news, it presented the user with a service as an alternative to desktop-bound software (in this case, for e-mail management).
Popular Web-based applications such as Web publishing software Blogger and word processor Writely, further extended the idea of SaaS delivered via the Internet. These applications, in turn, fuelled commercial interest in Web 2.0.
The powerful combination of global reach and the convenience of central management encouraged companies to graduate from being suppliers of shrink-wrapped goods to being providers of global, round-the-clock access to applications.
We asked business chiefs from SAP, Citrix, Adobe Systems and Oracle for their take on SaaS things to come.
