There are thousands of Software as a Service (SaaS) applications for sale on the web today. Everything from CRM software to many of the popular online games such as World of Warcraft (WoW). Most of these applications run in data centers just like ours. They are run on dedicated or co-located servers usually at the lowest possible combination of features and associated costs. These people and businesses that offer applications online generally see servers and data centers as a necessary evil. They are not in the business of setting up servers, data networking, and infrastructure management. This represents a technology prospective based on the traditional of doing things and reflects the way things were in the good old days.
Cloud computing, cloud servers, Platform as a Service (PaaS), and hosted services offer a much more flexible and economical way of getting your SaaS application to end users without wasting your time and resources on physical servers. True cloud computing solutions are easily controlled from a web-based control panel that allow you to add / change / remove processing power, memory, and storage as needed. Couple that flexibility with advanced monitoring services that alert you when your CPU or memory run at 80% capacity and you instantly get a Smartware platform. Smartware systems automatically tell you when you need more resources. You can start small and grow at the exact point when you need resources. If you see a downturn in use, you can remove resources producing instant savings.