Thanks to the ever-evolving technologies, various software companies aimed at increasing the efficiency of business operations are available to organizations. These come in many forms including the Software as a Service (SaaS) model. This article discusses the merits of  Software as a Service is, its advantages and disadvantages, and things to keep in mind while accessing it, to ensure its security.

The shift to remote working due to the pandemic led to an explosion of new SaaS products in the corporate world, and businesses are continually adding SaaS applications to their IT systems. SaaS – aka Software as a Service – is a type of software that permits end users to make use of  software without bothering to implement the underlying Infrastructure.  The starking  difference between SaaS and IaaS is the cost and the challenges of implementing of complex infrastructure and its plug and play model.

Software as a Service products are a formidable tool for growth-focused businesses. SaaS is likely to be one of the fastest growing market sectors over the next decade, as it is the intersection of cloud technology and enterprise software. As global corporations in emerging markets move to the cloud, the need for enterprise-grade business solutions is going to explode. This comes as a surprise to no one, as SaaS offers numerous benefits.

Some of these include:

  • Easier Accessibility: The paramount asset offered by Security as a Service is accessibility and its ubiquity It can be accessed all over the internet by any device.
  • Non-obligatory maintenance: An unrequired setup of hardware and tools for using SaaS, leads to almost zero maintenance of these devices. This leads to the next perk of reduction in costs.
  • Cost Optimization : No special installation of devices, equipment or hardware is needed for SaaS. Additionally, a small portion of overall business finance goes towards accessing SaaS, as it can be easily used by subscribing to it on a monthly or yearly basis.
  • Standard updates: SaaS vendors provide auto updates to the software which proves monumentally beneficial to users. They also do not need to install new software, rather they can fruitfully continue using the same software.

Accompanying all such advantages, Software as a Service has one major disadvantage, mainly the risk to its security features. In a 2021 survey, 85 percent of companies highlighted SaaS misconfigurations as a top threat, yet only 12 percent of companies with between 50 and 99 applications check them weekly for misconfigurations or concerns.

A wide array of SaaS applications are available on the market — exceeding 40,000 — such that, there exists no successful tried and tested measure for configuring security features or describing them. Small businesses tend to be more vulnerable to misconfigurations than other organizations because they have limited budgets and IT resources. Therefore, businesses remain particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks and data breaches because they distribute less funding towards security. Thus, a lot of sensitive data with financial value, such as employees’ personal and professional data, financial statements, etc. can be lost.

As companies use more cloud computing and Software as a Service applications, business leaders need to be sure the apps that are being used are properly configured and appropriately secured. They have no need to worry though, as experienced management tools can help business leaders to make their SaaS applications highly secure.

This is where CSPM, or Cloud Security Posture Management comes in. It is a tool designed to identify and curtail security risks in the cloud, including SaaS. This tool works by continuously checking the cloud platform, hence avoiding data leaks. A few other ways of achieving secure SaaS along with CSPM are:

  • early detection of rogue software and suspicious accounts on the cloud,
  • instantly applying preventive measures against a data breach,
  • encrypting and securing all existing data,
  • and initiating a course of action for securing the existing SaaS.

With these measures in order, it is totally feasible to successfully implement SaaS for the betterment of any establishment. Apart from many other technologies turning obsolete with time, SaaS is a novel technology, its demand reaching the roof day by day. This is the reason why SaaS is one of the chief technologies suggested to be implemented in any company, pronto.