{"id":4288,"date":"2018-05-16T14:06:28","date_gmt":"2018-05-16T18:06:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?post_type=sage_glossary&#038;p=4288"},"modified":"2026-01-16T07:13:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T12:13:46","slug":"what-is-saas-solution","status":"publish","type":"sage_glossary","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/glossary\/what-is-saas-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"What is software as a service (SaaS)?"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/glossary\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Glossary definition<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat is software as a service (SaaS)?\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"What is software as a service (SaaS)?\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/glossary\/what-is-saas-solution\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Software as a Service (also known&nbsp;as SaaS) is a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/sage-business-cloud\/accounting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cloud-based software<\/a>&nbsp;that allows users to access to work from an internet-connected device without the need to download any software. SaaS programs are hosted virtually and the software can be automatically&nbsp;updated via internet connectivity. While many forms of software need to be downloaded onto a hard drive, which can be time-intensive and more costly, SaaS can reduce the time for deployment, cost, and creates operational efficiencies, allowing users to get up and running quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SaaS removes the need for organizations to install and run applications on their own computers or in their own data centers and are often offered as a subscription model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-saas-in-canada\">SaaS in Canada<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the past decade the development of Cloud services in Canada has led to a shift away from traditional desktop software as more customers become accustomed to accessing web based software applications through their internet browsers. New businesses that sell software as a service (SaaS) often structure their revenue models around software licensing, CRMs that can be accessed by mobile devices and office-style business applications.<\/p>\n\n<section class=\"more-topics alignfull has-grey-light-background-color wp-block-sage-post-topics\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-4\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"more-topics__title h2\">Browse more topics from this term<\/h3>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-8\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-tags__list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/tag\/financial-insights\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfinancial insights\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<div class=\"alignfull wp-block-sage-related-posts\">\n\t<section class=\"related-posts card-grid has-dark-background-color\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"related-posts__heading related-posts__heading--featured h1\">Explore more wisdom<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"row related-posts__featured\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-0 post-14816 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters tag-accounting-101 tag-business-finances tag-expenses tag-financial-insights tag-profit-and-loss tag-small-business tag-tax business_type-small-business business_type-medium-business industry-healthcare card-post--is-clickable\"\n>\n\t<div class=\"card-post__media-wrapper\">\n\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1285289807-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1285289807-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1285289807-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1285289807-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"card-post__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__label\">Recommended<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-07-20T06:21:32-04:00\">July 20, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">18 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/guide-to-dental-practice-accounting\/\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tDental practice accounting: A complete guide\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"card-post__description\">\n\t\t\t\tUnderstanding dental practice accounting helps your practice run smoothly and profitably, so you can spend less time on the books and more time on patient care.\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row related-posts__non-featured\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"related-posts__heading 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48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-07-03T08:20:26-04:00\">July 3, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">11 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tNAV meaning: net asset value formula and examples\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-4 post-12855 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters 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finance\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Software as a Service (also known&nbsp;as SaaS) is a&nbsp;cloud-based software&nbsp;that allows users to access to work from an internet-connected device without the need to download any software. SaaS programs are hosted virtually and the software can be automatically&nbsp;updated via internet connectivity. While many forms of software need to be downloaded onto a hard drive, which [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":282,"template":"","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[190],"class_list":["post-4288","sage_glossary","type-sage_glossary","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-financial-insights"],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice Canada English","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/sage_glossary\/4288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/sage_glossary"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/sage_glossary"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/sage_glossary\/4288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}