Computer Networks Read the case study and answer the questions that follow. Software as a Service or SaaS is a fairly new service that allows users to open an application directly from the Internet. This process was previously accomplished by a user purchasing software and downloading it to their computer. Software as a Service (SaaS) Software as a Service (SaaS) has been growing in popularity. This is an application that can be used in the place of downloading different types of software to a users computer. There are many pros and cons to using this type of service. The following are some of the pros: Easier access because all that is needed to run it is Internet access. The biggest pro of using SaaS is probably that there is usually no need for an initial investment. SaaS can be used by all company sizes and one of the advantages of using the service in a company is that additional users can be easily added by changing the current plan. Even though the pros of using SaaS outnumber the cons, there are still potential issues that need to be addressed such as Internet access of the customers and increasing challenges of maintaining cybersecurity. Microsoft Office to Office 365 Prior to the transformation, Microsoft sold Microsoft Office by charging the users a one-time fee. Users would pay to get all the Office applications that they could only use on one computer. In order to do an upgrade, users would have to re-purchase it. Microsoft 365 has plans that are geared toward personal and business use that always offer the most up-to-date versions. The company identified several challenges to the current model of sales. Some of the challenges included employees of an organization not being able to share data or access data remotely, employees needed training in order to learn how to use the product, some concerns in regard to security etc. These were potentially solved by transforming to SaaS and Office 365 because users always have the most updated version, employees of organizations could use more than one device and are able to work remotely, and Microsoft has a data center that has the highest level of security. Internally they had to consider changes to the company structure and technology. Some of these changes included: Offering services to the cloud Moving their Information Technology (IT) to the cloud Offering opportunity for improvement on some services Increasing security measures Advances in the ability to perform data analysis Improving customer service Made changes to product development and how products are released4 The employees of Microsoft concluded that the customers of Microsoft would probably prefer to purchase software such as Microsoft 365 on a basis where they would be able to easily renew to get access to updated versions. By taking this action, Microsoft was able to predict what their revenues would be more accurately because their customers were purchasing applications which they would be able to use over a longer period of time. This was a great welcomed change in service since every organization has different needs. Now, each organization could only purchase and pay for services that they actually need.2 Issues and Challenges Even though this was a great move for Microsoft, there were some issues that they had to overcome. One of the challenges that Microsoft faced was the fact that since support was now taken care of by the provider, there was no longer a need for users to make all of their purchases from one vendor. Microsoft was able to overcome this hurdle by introducing the Office application for iPads.2 Another challenge has been keeping user accounts secure. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of hackers gaining access to Office 365 accounts. There has been an increase in account takeover (ATO) attacks which has affected the accounts of numerous organizations. In these cases, the credentials were stolen which provided access to other types of accounts.5 Organizations now have the ability to choose what technologies they would like to use in their business. Some organizations choose to work using cloud technology while others may choose to use something more private. There are more and more organizations starting to use Office 365 which offers a wide variety of technology benefits. This application includes the use of email, and the ability for everyone in an organization to share files and data. Success of Microsoft 365 Microsoft 365 has already proven to be very successful. Currently, 20% of employees in an organization use Office 365. Most of these employees work in financial services. Organizations are finding that their productivity and efficiency has improved since they started using Office 365. Some other industries that have started using Office 365 are the manufacturing and healthcare industries. Data shows that 81% of companies have started using the cloud services that are offered by Office 365.6 Today, there are more than 155 million individuals using Office 365 on a regular basis. More than 90 million users are using the Outlook application and currently there are over 500,000 organizations using Microsoft Teams.

SaaS is a growing industry and many organizations want to enter the market. Which of the following is not something to consider when trying to enter this market?

Multiple Choice

A.Determine how many sales representatives are going to be needed and what their credentials should be.

B. Having a good customer base is very important. Customers should always be kept because they bring in revenue for the company.

C. Sales representatives are not necessary because SaaS can sell itself.

D. Understand what you will have to provide your customers so that they can be successful.