The small business trends blog has a list of the top technology trends for small business. One of them (they aren’t numbered) is hosted applications. The author points out that:
While traditional PC based applications have a role to play, hosted applications, that you can access over the Internet is becoming more widely available. With Google launching application after application (all hosted on the Internet) more and more companies (Microsoft is now awakening to this trend) will offer core applications online. Hosted applications increase speed of deployment, reduce computer crashes and speed program updates.
A note of caution here. As I’ve said before, there is a huge difference between hosted applications and true software as a service (SaaS). The benefits this author is talking about come from SaaS. Hosted means it’s all the same work (manual maintenance, upgrades, etc) as it would be if you bought the software – you’re just paying someone else to do it. SaaS means you’re taking advantage of economies of scale that support all the provider’s customers and results in faster deployments, more frequent upgrades and more reliable systems.
For more on this topic: AgileMaps has a list of 9 different articles on 2006 technology trends and says you’ll find SaaS a common theme.
Beware the prognosticators.
