In a world where everything seems to come with a subscription, from music to meal kits, today we are going to talk about software by subscription. Instead of buying a program and installing it on your computer, you can now access it online for a recurring fee.
That’s exactly what SaaS is. Software as a Service is a cloud-based model where users access applications over the internet while the provider handles infrastructure, security, and updates. Essentially, it’s an application offered as a paid service. It can be a web portal that manages help desk tickets, a customer relationship management (CRM) platform, a marketing analytic tool… Anything that behaves as software and is charged as a subscription. What makes it different from traditional software is that users don’t have to worry about updates, servers, or maintenance, since the provider takes care of all that behind the scenes. As a business model, Software as a Service (SaaS) is one of the most profitable and scalable setups out there. The market is absolutely booming: thousands of companies are thriving because their solutions don’t need much more than a solid internet connection. By replacing traditional software with browser-based apps, SaaS is cost-effective, user-friendly, and saves everyone from the pain of installations, updates, and long onboarding sessions.
Examples of SaaS applications, you ask? Feeling like The Little Mermaid: we’ve got gadgets and gizmos aplenty! The first example is Google Workspace, probably the most well-known SaaS suite out there. Gmail handles communication, Google Docs supports collaborative editing, and Google Sheets turns spreadsheets into modern tools for data management.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) works on similar principles, offering infrastructure and cloud platforms on a pay-as-you-go model. Users can access computing power, storage, and APIs without investing in hardware. The University of Maryland itself has a multifaceted relationship with AWS, providing cloud resources, support, and educational programs to its community.
Then there’s Slack, the chat app that keeps teams connected. Its channels help organize projects and reduce email clutter with quick, real-time communication. Or Salesforce, another household name in the SaaS world, which is a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform that helps businesses manage interactions, unify customer data, and streamline sales, marketing, and customer service.
The list of examples goes on, with Canva, Zoom, Trello, and hundreds more. But what happens when something goes wrong? It’s clear that most organizations, and even individuals, now rely on SaaS tools every day, which also means that a single security breach in one provider can ripple across thousands of users and institutions.
This is where SaaS security comes into play. SaaS security comprises a collection of controls, policies, and practices that serve to protect Software as a Service applications from malicious activity. It involves establishing strong access controls, secure configuration, and robust encryption, among others.
Although SaaS applications have their own unique risks, keep in mind that all SaaS applications are also web applications, and therefore vulnerable to all common web-based threats. Data is stored outside your direct control; access often overlaps across multiple platforms; and a simple misconfiguration or vendor breach can expose everything, even if your own network is fine.
So, before installing new software, it’s important to check with your IT department. Once they identify the need for a new IT solution, especially a cloud-based or subscription service, they can guide you through the proper review–it’s essential that every new platform is carefully assessed before purchase or use. This helps ensure that vendor applications comply with university policies, state regulations, and federal laws, and that any potential risks are identified early.
This might feel a bit like having that overly cautious friend who reads every contract before signing, but that attention to detail protects your data from drifting off into the digital sea. Think of this as a good habit, one that keeps your information from ending up like Ariel’s voice, floating away toward Ursula’s cave of “agreements.” The university needs to keep track of what tools are being used, verify who has access, read the fine print, and ask vendors the tough questions so you don’t have to.
SaaS makes our digital lives smoother, as long as we stay smart about what’s behind the subscription. The future is definitely SaaS(y)… but let’s make sure it’s secure, too!