Big SaaS: The Next Step Beyond Big Data

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is a model of cloudcomputing in which software functions are delivered to theusers as services. The past few years have witnessed itsglobal flourishing. In the foreseeable future, SaaSapplications will integrate with the Internet of Things,Mobile Computing, Big Data, Wireless Sensor Networks,and many other computing and communication technologiesto deliver customizable intelligent services to a vastpopulation.This will give rise to an era of what we call Big SaaSsystems of unprecedented complexity and scale. They willhave huge numbers of tenants/users interrelated in complexways. The code will be complex too and require Big Databut provide great value to the customer.With these benefits come great societal risks, however,and there are other drawbacks and challenges. Forexample, it is difficult to ensure the quality of data andmetadata obtained from crowdsourcing and to maintain theintegrity of conceptual model. Big SaaS applications willalso need to evolve continuously. This paper will discusshow to address these challenges at all stages of the softwarelifecycle.