The Hindu Business Line : `I ride him for you'

Software companies are beginning to favour a model of delivery whereby they provide maintenance, daily technical operation and support for the software they provide their clients.

This Software as a Service (SaaS) model can be used to target any market segment, including home consumers, small business, medium and large business.

Increasingly, security software vendors too are leaning towards this model.

Trend Micro, for instance, has tied up with VSNL to provide a PC protection solution as a service to home users.

Similarly, Symantec plans Norton 260, which is a service that will include online identity theft protection, back-up and PC tune-up capabilities.

According to analyst firm IDC, Software as a Service will make up 30 per cent of the software market by 2007 and will be worth $10.7 billion by 2009 globally.

Why this model? A key reason is cost. There is the relief of not having to initially invest or expand investment.

Also, day-to-day application maintenance, a time consuming and expensive exercise, is taken care of by the service provider who manages application upgrades too.

Capt Raghu Raman, CEO, Mahindra Special Services Group, however cautions that the requirements being handled by a third party may not be fully customised to a particular company's needs. This will have to be addressed. He feels Software as a Service would address requirements such as patch management, antivirus updates, etc, but any strategic issues will have to be left to on-ground specialist teams.

Niraj Kaushik, Country Manager, Trend Micro, says VSNL and Trend Micro have tied up to offer a PC protection solution as a service to individual and residential users. The solution incorporates antivirus, spyware protection, firewall, antispam,etc. Internet users have been given an option to subscribe to this service on a monthly or yearly basis.

In this arrangement, the existing product PC-cillin Internet security has been extended in the form of a service. It comes into the market with Trend Micro Expert Services (TMES) offering. The objective is to take care of an organisation's entire security framework - with 24x7 monitoring, action and update.

The Software as a Service model is also seen as a means of enabling positive software experiences, and providers focus on innovative ways to make the customer more successful, not just on features and functions.

Companies get rapid development of capabilities but they might have to sacrifice, in some measure, customisation, individual attention, says Capt Raghu Raman.

Kaushik says with increasing competition, enterprises seek a solution that enables them to focus on their core competencies, leaving the security aspect to the experts.

Srikiran Raghavan, Regional Sales Head of India, RSA, the security division of EMC, says RSA has traditionally offered several of its software platforms in the form of a service, either directly, or through managed service provider relationships.

Examples of an ASP/MSP-based delivery include Managed Strong Authentication Services.

For small and mid-size companies, managing and securing a full-featured remote access network is often an expensive task fraught with challenges.

Network services such as virtual private networks (VPNs), wireless access and e-commerce solutions can provide significant cost reductions, increased productivity and improved reach and service compared to traditional remote access solutions. But these services require a skilled staff and 24x7x365 management. This is where the Software as a Service model steps in.

Capt Raghu stresses that computer and network security threats do not discriminate against the size of an organisation, and the frequency of such attacks makes it imperative for small-to-medium sized businesses to be well-equipped to defend themselves.

Srikiran notes that partnering with a managed security service provider makes sense for SMBs that need to moderate expenses and proactively prevent security breaches.

The managed services market has been on the rise now for the past several years. Security will likely continue to be the driving force behind many companies seeking the help of managed security service providers.

Instead of spending precious time and corporate assets on typical learning-curve cycles of infrastructure deployment, companies can rely on an MSSP with a proven track record.

Capt Raghu Raman says the real issue is in terms of the trust levels that need to be established by the Software as a Service provider.

Srikiran feels the trend for service-based delivery is here to stay and will prove to be a compelling factor in proliferation of technology to the end user.

savitharin@gmail.com