Software as a Service

Software as a Service or SaaS is a software that is made available on the internet and is run behind a firewall in LAN (local area network) or on a personal computer. It is a method of selling software where a vendor or a service provider licenses an application to a customer that is used as a service on demand.

Some of the general traits that SaaS exhibits are

• Management of software that is available commercially
• Managing activities from certain specific central location rather than managing them separately at each site
• Feature updating that is centralized
• Releasing new features faster, since a large number of customers are benefited

SaaS is a much less expensive software that companies can use as per their requirement instead of licensing all devices with all applications. By using this software, small and medium businesses can seek to reduce capital investment which can be incurred in terms of software licenses, skilled IT manpower, infrastructure etc.

The benefits of using SaaS as a software model are

• Reduced costs since money is not spent on purchasing software or servers to support use.
• The working of an organisation becomes more flexible.
• A portion of the budget can be diverted to other area since there are no infrastructure costs. Its feedback mechanism gives more power to a layman. It constantly provides feedback on what works and what does not.
• The custom versions of big software packages can be used at lower costs.
• The risk of acquiring a new software is not there.

The idea behind developing this software is that instead of purchasing and installing expensive software packages, these can be accessed by the customers on a network. The only thing that is necessary is an Internet browser.

It should be kept in mind that this software is provided to the customer as a service and not as a product. The focus here is mainly on what the consumer wants rather than on what can the vendor provide.

However, there are certain issues that SaaS needs to keep in mind. These are improving response time, improvement in scalability so that scaling is done according to the load, making sure that a client's specific data is safeguarded, making it available 24X7 and making it compatible with almost all operating systems.

Having tackled these issues, SaaS would surely attract attention. With the benefits it provides, it is certain to finds wide usage. 

If you would like to learn more about SaaS or PaaS and how to obtain the source code then please Click Here

Web 2.0 Mashup - What it is and How to Create

The term Web 2.0 is all the rage, but it really doesn't provide much detail on what it really is. The Internet and associated web pages are in a constant state of evolution. The term Rich Internet Application (RIA) refers to a web page or application that provides the user with an experience that resembles applications running on their local computer. RIA is one aspect of the Web 2.0 evolution.

Another Web 2.0 example is something called a "Mashup". A mashup is a quick way of describing a web page or site that brings together information from multiple sources in a unique way that brings value to the web user. There are many examples of mashups out there. Perhaps the best examples are ones that display information on a map. Thanks to Google Maps and Microsoft Maps it has become easy to not only display a map but also display push-pins for specific locations along with interesting information about the locations. Think about trying to find a restaurant for dinner. Just enter in your desired area and a map can be displayed with push-pins showing possibilities and when you move your mouse to the push-pin the page displays information about the restaurant. Pretty cool and helpful for the user.

Not all mashups are created equal, and not all require the use of maps. In some cases the information that is displayed from the user is retrieved from multiple sources through the use of Web Services or other APIs. The use of web services or APIs typically requires some amount of programming knowledge or experience. I have created several mashups by combining the Amazon Web Services, eBay web services, and PriceRunner services to provide a valuable source of information to consumers.

Where to Start?

Create your own mashup is a great way to better understand what a mashup is. Where to start, however, depends on your level of technical skills. If you have some programming and web development skills, then the best place to start will be the web site ProgrammableWeb.com. That site has tons of information about mashups, published APIs from vendors and other web sites, examples of mashups, forums, and more. Even if you aren't interested in programming the site will provide you with some good information.

If you're looking for a non-technical start at mashups then head over to the Microsoft Popfly [http://www.popfly.com] web site. The Popfly site provides some good information on mashups and also allows you to create your own mashup without writing a single line of code! How cool is that?

Ultimately it doesn't matter where you start your quest for knowledge on mashups. What is important is that you get started somewhere. If you want to learn while I'm learning, then check out my blog.

Brad Salmon has over 18 years of experience designing and developing technology solutions. He continues to have a passion for technology and spends his spare time learning new technologies and how to apply them to add real value. Check out his blog at Flintvalley.com Also check out Zune and Zune Accessory Store for a mashup example.

What is an Affiliate Mashup? - A Run Down of Script and Store

Affiliate marketing, social network creation and use, social bookmarking and video sharing sites have created an entirely new world on the web and an entirely new way to market. All of these sites pull together specialized content and to create an affiliate mashup means to bring together all these different types of content into a single location creating a significantly broader marketing base. As a result, traffic and potential earnings are greatly increased.

Basically what affiliate Mashup does is present a website that contains content from a variety of sources. These sources include places such as Amazon, Ebay, and Youtube. The content is pulled based on keywords. This is an essential part of the affiliate Mashup. It is what pulls together everything that is relevant to the website you are creating.

An affiliate Mashup store is one that employs all the content from affiliate sites such as the ones listed above. There are others and a quick internet search will provide you with a number of options. The above there, Amazon, Youtube, and Ebay are the three most widely known.

There are many stores, which are starting to use this method not only to generate traffic but also to make the site more versatile and engaging for visitors. The idea is to encourage people to stay on the site, increasing the chance of a sale but also to tell their friends, family and associates.

The script behind Affiliate Mashup sites in order to embed the various aspects from the various sites and create the Mashup is fairly easy. You can find a number of pre written script that simply requires you to enter in your information. You will also need a certain level of account for example you will need a developer account on Youtube and accounts with Ebay and Amazon. You may need to apply for script as well depending on the site the Mashup script is usually an API but may be found under affiliate store script.

To create an affiliate mashup store is not difficult and involves bringing together specialized keyword based content from affiliates. These affiliates usually have affiliate store script, which is designed to assist you in placing the relevant content on your page. This is where the term affiliate mashup came from. It is the combination of multiple types of content into a single location and designed for the purpose of generating traffic, which increases potential sales.

Mike Bunyan builds and writes about affiliate mashup stores [http://www.mashup-store.com], and how powerful affiliate script mashups can be. He has also published a Squidoo lens reviewing affiliate mashup store scripts.

Grid Computing - Pros and Cons

Grid computing has been around for a few years now and its advantages are many. Grid computing can be defined in many ways but for these discussions let's simply call it a way to execute compute jobs (e.g. perl scripts, database queries, etc.) across a distributed set of resources instead of one central resource. In the past most computing was done in silos or large SMP like boxes. Even today you'll still see companies perform calculations on large SMP boxes (e.g. E10K's, HP Superdomes). But this model can be quite expensive and doesn't scale well.

Along comes grid computing and now we have the ability to distribute jobs to many smaller server components using load sharing software that distributes the load evenly based on resources and policies. Now instead of having one heavily burdened server the load is spread evenly across many smaller computer which can be spread around various locations.

Some advantages are quite obvious.

1) No need to buy large SMP servers for applications that can be split up and farmed out to smaller servers (which cost far less than SMP servers). Results can then be concatenated and analyzed upon job(s) completion.

2) Much more efficient use of idle resources. Jobs can be farmed out to idle server or even idle desktops. Many of these resources sit idle especially during off business hours.

3) Grid environments are much more modular and don't have single points of failure. If one of the servers/desktops within the grid fail there are plenty of other resources able to pick the load. Jobs can automatically restart if a failure occurs.

4) Policies can be managed by the grid software. Some of the most popular grid enabling software include Platform LSF, Sun Grid Engine, Data Synapse, PBS, Condor, UnivaUD, among others. Each do a good job of monitoring resources and managing job submissions based upon internal policy engines.

5) This model scales very well. Need more compute resources just plug them in by installing grid client on additional desktops or servers. They can be removed just as easily on the fly.

6) Upgrading can be done on the fly without scheduling downtime. Since there are so many resources some can be taken offline while leaving enough for work to continue. This way upgrades can be cascaded as to not effect ongoing projects.

7) Jobs can be executed in parallel speeding performance. Using things like MPI will allow message passing to occur among compute resources.

Some disadvatages:

1) For memory hungry applications that can't take advantage of MPI you may be forced to run on a large SMP

2) You may need to have a fast interconnect between compute resources (gigabit ethernet at a minimum). Infiband for MPI intense applications

3) Some applications may need to be tweaked to take full advantage of the new model.

4) Licensing across many servers may make it prohibitive for some apps. Vendors are starting to be more flexible with environment like this.

Areas that already are taking good advantage of grid computing include bioinformatics, cheminformatics, oil & drilling, and financial applications.

With the advantages listed above you'll start to see much larger adoption of Grids which should benefit everyone involved. I believe the biggest barrier right now is education.

What is Cloud Computing? - All You Need to Know

    We all are aware of the fact that a perfect server is required for hosting the websites on the internet. If you want to publish your website on the internet, then all you need to do is to select a perfect hosting service for yourself. These days, you can easily notice various types of web hosting solutions in the market. Some of them are shared web hosting, dedicated web hosting, virtual web hosting, cloud hosting, free web hosting and managed web hosting. Here in this article, I will tell you some of the basic features about the cloud web service.

    Nowadays, cloud hosting is gaining a lot of popularity because it is the most cost effective web hosting service. There are many companies who simply take the help of this hosting service so that they can easily mark their presence on the internet. If you want to start your online business, then you can simply take the help of cloud servers. This we service is mainly meant for the beginners. 

    Cloud hosting simply refers to the internet service in which various servers are allowed to share their resources at a single place. This computing service simply allows the clients to share the resources and bandwidth for their web sites. Well, I would like to tell you that if you are using cloud hosting service, then you can simply take the help of the resources and online applications which are uploaded on the server.

    You can simply enjoy the hassle free hosting for your website and web pages with the help of these servers. You can also manage your web site with the help of various online applications. It is just because the technology which is included in this service is very much advanced and flexible. This hosting service also does not require a particular platform for execution. You can simply access this service with the help of various windows platform.

    This web service also provides numerous advantages which are mentioned below.

    1. Cloud servers can be installed very easily. No additional hardware is required in this service.

    2. You can easily notice a large number of resources in the cloud servers. If you want, you can

        simply use these resources for improving your website.

    3. This service service is very much cost effective as compared to the rest of the services.

The maintenance cost of the server is also shared among all the users.

Above mentioned are some of the important features and benefits of cloud computing.

Are you looking for cloud computing? Read more about cloud computing and know its advantages and benefits.

Cloud Computing

     Most people in the world have no idea what cloud computing is. The concept can be very hard to understand, but I will try to clear that up for you. Cloud computing is basically technology that will allow people to access to use certain applications on any computer. These applications will not have to be installed on a computer. As long as a computer has Internet access it will be able to use the application. This is very nice because you don't have to be on a certain computer or place to do something. You could do something that needs to be done right away at home rather than having to head down to the work place.

     There are many different kinds of cloud computing. The first kind that we will discuss is SaaS. This particular kind is a single application. This kind of computing is quite simple. Because there is only one application it is very easy for the company to maintain. This also means that the costs are much lower than a different kind with many different kinds of applications. For a customer there is no initial investment as far as servers or software licensing.

    A second kind of cloud computing is utility computing. The popularity of cloud computing is on the rise. This kind of computing is generally used by companies for needs that are not so critical. This kind of computing is usually a supplemental kind of computing for a company. Amazon.com, Sun, and IBM are three companies that are really making this kind of computing very popular. Because the popularity is rising, utility computing may become more than just a supplemental kind of computing tool. It may become a central focus for a company's computing needs.

    A third, and the final kind of cloud computing being discussed, is Web services in the cloud. This kind of computing is very close to the kind of computing that is done with SaaS. In this kind of computing the Internet is exploited for its functionality. Applications are not really delivered with this kind of computing. Providers can offer things such as discrete business services, and other kinds of APIs that are offered by such systems such as Google Maps. This kind of computing can be used for a variety of purposes, and by a variety of companies.

For more information on cloud computing, visit T-Systems Singapore here.