Software as a service (SaaS) is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. It is sometimes referred to as “on-demand software”.
The software and data are stored on the vendor’s servers, with the customer accessing them using a web browser or other user interface. As such, SaaS differs from other models such as software licensing, in which the customer downloads or installs a copy of the software onto their own hardware.
