Monday, May 22, 2006

Microsoft Releases early version of toolset for SaaS

Microsoft today announced the availability of Hosted for Applications Version 1, a set of tools and guidance intended to help its vendor partners gain a foothold in the burgeoning software-as-a-service (SaaS) market. The move is more than a tactical nod to the growing importance of SaaS, where it has said it will become a player; it is also a strategic way of reassuring its reseller community.

Microsoft said that Hosting for Applications mirrors the SaaS model. Just as SaaS vendors charge end-users on a per-seat, per-month basis, so Microsoft will only charge ISVs for usage. The SaaS model is an annuity-based model, and on the back end Microsoft wants to make sure the way they are paying is based on the same thing.

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