What is it and what does it do? It is an online software that users can “rent/borrow” instead of actually purchasing the software and installing it onto their computers. One example of an SaaS is Hotmail. However, SaaS goes beyond your email provider. The idea behind SaaS is to allow software businesses to run their computer tools as online rented products. All of your work, as a user, will be done on the internet; the process of creating and saving documents just by using a web browser.
What are Some of the benefits to SaaS?
For the Consumer:
- No software installation/maintenance
- Global availability
- Reduced costs
For the Provider:
- Reduced costs
- Predictable growth
- Smaller upgrades
What are the Downsides to SaaS? It’s hard for the users to trust the internet; documents being corrupted, lost, connectivity, or privacy and security issues.
Now that we know what SaaS is, I’ve done some further research on SaaS and I found a really neat SaaS, called Gliffy.
Gliffy is an online diagram software where you can easily create professional-quality flowcharts, diagrams, floor plans, technical drawings, and so much more. This tool is great for architecture, information architecture, and project management. Students in high school may use Gliffy for projects in subjects like Social Studies or Geography. Gliffy is not just limited to business owners. It’s pretty much OmniGraffle, but better.
Gliffy was first founded in May 2005 in San Francisco, by Clint Dickson and Chris Kohlhardt.You are given a free 30 day trial, when you register for account. You don’t need to enter credit card details. If you don’t pay before the 30 day trial is up, you’ll be limited to some features.
With the free account, you may only save and create public diagrams which means everyone can see it. You are only allowed to upload images 2MB or below, whereas with the premium account, this feature is unlimited. The premium version gives you privacy and security with your documents by logging on using SSL, it also rids of the Gliffy logo watermark.
So how much does it cost per month? One user premium account costs $5/month, 10 users cost $25/month, 25 users cost $60/month. There are plans available for up to 1000 users.
Now you may be a little skeptical with this SaaS, can you really do m
uch with Gliffy? I did a trial run of Gliffy, and yes, you can. You can create any sort of diagram (venn diagrams, flow charts, floor plans, and more.) As you can see, this is what their interface looks like. It is really easy to use; you just drag and drop, you can save and share in several different formats, and back up your work.
Gliffy is not the only SaaS drawing software. There are several other softwares similar to Gliffy, such as Dabbleboard. However, Dabbleboard doesn’t allow its users to create floor maps like Gliffy. It’s mostly just a drawing tool to create flowcharts and mind maps.
