SaaS has been around for a while so now it’s important to start thinking about SaaS 2.0.  SaaS 1.0 allows applications to be run and maintained by a SaaS provider in a remote data center on behalf of your organization.  This gives your business users the agility to quickly obtain the benefits of these new software packages while reducing the requirement of your IT build and maintain expertise needed to manage the applications.

However as organizations change, grow rapidly, merge, or divest they require even more agility.  They need to be able to seamlessly move data in and out of, and integrate across these SaaS applications.  This is exacerbated by the number of different SaaS solutions organizations adopt.  Depending on the data movement, privacy requirements, and the IT skills of an organization where the actual software is deployed matters.  Often it can make more sense to deploy inside your network where you have more bandwidth and lower latency.

Currently there are advocates to take a hybrid cloud approach which marks the beginning of this. The hybrid approach is really about combining traditional on premise and cloud solutions. However by using available automation for deploying and maintaining systems as well as current containers like Docker SaaS vendors can maintain their software within your network. This is really starting an Uncloud^TM  approach that I see defining SaaS 2.0 going forward.  With an Uncloud^TM  approach SaaS 2.0 vendors will maintain and manage applications that may be in the cloud or in your data center, and applications can be migrated freely between the two locations as needed.

With an Uncloud^TM approach you will gain the advantage of having your different SaaS products in the same network enhancing connectivity and allowing vendors to manage the software.  Allowing you to decide of what SaaS vendors to use and separately decide where to have your data.