Software delivered as a Service (SaaS) is growing dramatically with all market analysts predicting usage will take off significantly over the next few years. Software as a Service is a software distribution model in which applications are hosted by a service provider and made available to customers over a network.

Those companies who are flocking to deploy SaaS as an application distribution model are attracted by its easy administration and centralised control; its remote accessibility and the on-demand pricing it offers.

If SaaS is to deliver the benefits it promises to business customers then it is vital that is supported by a fit-for purpose service-oriented architecture.

Our service-oriented NGN uses VPLS as a service layer over an MPLS core. This gives our customers all the benefits of MPLS – control, quality and security with the appealing qualities of Ethernet – familiarity; speed; ease-of-use and ability to scale.

With our NGN all services connected by our VPLS technology appear to be on the same LAN, regardless of location. What this means to senior ICT staff is that centrally-hosted services can be distributed to multiple sites with all sites behaving as though they are an extension of the LAN environment.  

If you’re thinking of deploying SaaS for your organisation what could be better than a platform of this kind to support your hosted software service?

VPLS Next Generation Networking supports the following SaaS features:

SaaS benefit or requirement	VPLS feature and supporting benefit
Cost efficiency	True convergence but with SaaS application provided on its own CPE port and physically different cable
Network-based access and management of services	SaaS applications provided over a transparent transport platform with all sites sat on the same logical subnet or broadcast domain
Activities managed at central locations rather than at customer sites	Layer 2 flat structure makes all sites appear to be on the same LAN regardless of physical location
One to many model and centralised feature/patch updates	Highly-insulated VLANs pipe services reliably and quickly to where they are needed
On-demand licensing and pricing	Adding in new customer  sites and powering them up to receive the SaaS application can be done at keystrokes

Contact us if you are an enterprise customer wanting to check that your company WAN is fit for purpose for supporting SaaS applications.