Whether it is watching your favorite series or be it preparing for your tax returns – everything is now the call of the demand. It is said that 2005 introduced mankind to the world of cloud computing. Gone are the times when we were confined to constrictive configurations or contracts, per se.
Now, with the advent of technology, hosting environments could never be easier. It can seamlessly acclimatize on-demand to accommodate a huge volume of traffic as well. This is how the hosting environment gave birth to ‘as-a-service’ models.
In the year 2011, a resounding statement, ‘software is eating the world’ was predicted by Marc Andreessen. Simply put, XaaS meaning is all about customer engagement. Earlier it used to be purely a technology affair having pay-as-you-go subscription. It was a great approach to save money and to avoid unnecessary chit-chats with the staff force.
As Lesley MacDonald, Programs Manager, Dell EMC rightly explains, “From its early origins of SaaS, the cloud-based on-demand services category has evolved into anything-and-everything-as-a-service that isn’t nailed to the floor. XaaS is the essence of cloud computing—a smorgasbord of utility-based offerings that can be consumed on a per-seat, per-month model, depending on usage,”
Let’s look at the process in which SaaS evolved from the ‘as-a-service’ model to a modern-day like today, where XaaS has become a reality.
It’s Myriad Impacts on Our Lives
Now the impact largely focuses on the connection and how it affects the user. This channel of networking changes the relation between the user and the software, fundamentally.
Furthermore, it establishes an engagement with the customer. It monitors their usage and improves the service, the way the user demands. With this, the XaaS definition has changed the world of interfaces altogether.
The XaaS developers felt that the new way of doing business was entirely innovative. That means, they need to completely discard the old pattern of business procedures. There hovered a little engagement only when the client needed to buy something new. Else, wherein the product stopped working.
However, in this new engaged procedure, it is easier to communicate with customers as they prosper to deliver revamped results for their clients. Currently, all the services, products, and experiences tie around a vicious circle.
This model of delivering everything as a connected service is the XaaS effect. It is way more than just engaging customers. As more and more companies delve into reorienting their processes around the XaaS world, they also recognize the need to re-architect their SOP’s in order to support this new behavior.
Adaptability by the B2B world
XaaS meaning has changed the customer’s mind-set for real good. They no longer see it as some purchased software that cuts a hole in their pockets but rather a subscribed-service. It is the essence of cloud computing and can now be consumed on a per-month, per-year model.
They are extending their possibilities into B2B organizations and unfurling their wings. As a matter of fact, businesses are striving to adapt to XaaS definition into their own roadmap for future success.
Benefits of XaaS
To begin with XaaS takes a notch down on your capital expenditures. You can easily have access to the latest technology, as it no longer demands a huge risk involved. As a user, you can just subscribe to whatever service you need and in no time you will be rendered.
With the help of this, a company can simply forego an office and also cut down its associated costs. You will also be in a position to use your space more effectively, as computing can be done remotely these days. Companies are now free to invest in opportunities, hire new talent, and inculcate new marketing schemes.
Let us have a sneak peek of how XaaS is helping us in our personal lives:
Transportation and Food: XaaS
With the rise of delivery service apps, we have begun to see a cute intersection of Food and transportation. Apps like Uber Eats, Ola Foods, and many others stick to a specific cloud computing software to connect to the user.
Hailing a cab is now a lot safer. And customers no longer have to worry about a rip off as the fare is economically standard. As the inclusion of micropayments is on the go, people are becoming more mobile.
In fact, delivery-minded restaurateurs have now started opening up cloud kitchens. It takes into account only the chefs and cooks to do the needful. Although there would be no spacious provision for sit and dine, there will be takeaway provision for the hungry diners.
Time and again, we see how this model throws an influence over capital expenditures. Gone are the days when a company needed financial assistance to stage a large investment to take advantage of the technology.
Why should Entertainment take a Backseat?
It is now easier than ever to subscribe to a monthly or yearly subscription on Netflix or HBO. You can also check out services rendered by Doctor on Demand that allows a patient to meet a doctor face to face and get a check-up.
Dog lovers can now use Rover to spend some quality time with their dogs- walking them, feeding them, and earning a tad extra pocket money. You get to play with your buddy and yet get a payment for that, could you ask for any better?
Final Take
The ubiquitous effects of the SaaS revolution are seen in just about everything we see or do. There was a time when the XaaS delivery unit was nascent and the industry people were apprehensive about its usage.
Now that the model has deeply penetrated into our personal lives, be it in food, transportation, or ancillary services. We start to see these offerings as a facilitator of on-demand services.
Kaustubh Sangam is a Customer Success Analyst with 2 years of experience. Committed to delivering exceptional customer experiences and driving business growth. Proficient in leveraging data analysis to optimize customer success strategies.
Published May 26, 2020, Updated June 07, 2023