What Are The Differences Between A Cloud & Hosted Solution?

[Kgriffith2309]

Hi All,

Sometimes people in technology make the mistake of using terms without proper care.  When that happens, words lose their distinction and people can easily become confused.

Considering this, I need help with understanding the differences between a cloud (Saas) and hosted solution.

Thanks in advance.

[ArtMiller]

Your point is quite valid.  These days, the term "cloud" has devolved to the point where it means nearly anything.  To answer your question, think of it this way:

A SaaS solution is a *shared* software application.  While the customers of a SaaS solution have separate data sets (often called "tenants") and, to a minor degree, some separate configuration of how the application runs, the users of a SaaS solution share the same codebase.  The SaaS vendor is responsible for maintenance of the codebase, and therefore determines when the codebase is upgraded.

A hosted solution, on the other hand, is still a *private* software application.  The application's codebase as well as the configuration and the data is used only by its owner.  While the vendor still provides upgrades & patches, the owner is responsible for applying them.  In the traditional definition of hosting (which has been used for decades) it differs from an on-site/on-premise application only in that the hardware is being managed offsite by a third party.

The benefits of SaaS over private/hosted are the economies of scale, and that the vendor publishes the software updates; all you have to do is work around them (e.g. work around downtimes, conduct testing).

The benefits of private/hosting over SaaS largely boil down to adaptability (customization) and control.  You generally have a much greater ability to modify/adapt the software when you are running a private application.  Private software also tends to address concerns about data security, but it's a matter of debate as to whether this is reality or just perception.

As a final note, SaaS is not synonymous with "cloud" as there are other types of cloud applications besides SaaS.  There are also IaaS and PaaS solutions.  In IaaS, the infrastructure is shared through virtualization but the software running in that shared infrastructure is still private.  With PaaS, a shared software *platform* is provided, on which private applications are developed.

Hope this helps.