SaaS in many ways seems like a marketing re-categorization of the “old” ASP (application sevrice provider) model. But there are some small nuances, and I guess that is attributed to the speed and frequency of software updates/upgrades.

Anyway, I’m not a real expert in this field, so I’ll be going to next week’s AmCham Shanghai InfoComm Committee to hear Sean Yu of CDC Software. I recommended Sean to the committee because CDC seems on a roll (stock wise) and it would be interesting to hear what they have to say.

Sean will be talking on “Software as a Service (SaaS): The Future of Software Delivery” and the blurb reads:

The way enterprise software is being delivered is undergoing tremendous changes thanks to the benefits offered by a new delivery model called software as a service (SaaS). SaaS is where the customer is relieved from the hassles of installation, maintenance, and upgrade of software while realizing value without making a large up-front capital investment. This delivery model delivers software applications via the Internet from server rooms run by the vendor or contracted hosting firms. The new SaaS model promises zero up-front costs, low pay-as-you-go monthly fees, greatly reduced maintenance on the customer side, and more frequent and lower cost upgrades.

More info here: http://www.amcham-shanghai.org/