While there is little doubt that Software as a Service is convenient, flexible, and very robust, because it is being hosted over the web, there are a number of security issues that must be considered. If security issues are not carefully dealt with, problems could occur and some organizations may become reluctant to use the technology throughout their enterprises.

Many proponents of SaaS point out that the concerns which clients and security experts have is unwarranted; they claim that many of the threats which could become a problem for SaaS can be easily dealt with. At the moment, because SaaS is an emerging technology, these issues haven’t become major yet, but they could in the future.

Most security experts have made it clear that IT departments need to ask a lot of hard questions before they make the decision to integrate SaaS into their organization. Nothing an SaaS vendor says can really be taken at face value, the primary reason for this is because the SaaS vendors need to earn a profit, and will say anything to make it seem as if their product is more secure than it actually may be.

The good news for these vendors is that the security issues associated with SaaS hasn’t stopped the industry from growing greatly in recent years. Two powerful tools have been introduced by Microsoft, and these are Office Live and Windows Live.

Google has also made it clear that it is "very" interested in the prospect of integrating SaaS into its services. This isn’t a big surprise, since SaaS is a powerful business model which has a number of benefits. It is absolutely critical for SaaS vendors to emphasize the security aspects of their tools, as this will play an important role in allowing them to form stronger business relationships with the very organizations they cater their products to.

For example, one SaaS tool that has some security issues that must be addressed is the on-demand structure. Some of the attacks that its vulnerable to includes the "man-in-the-middle" attacks, along with concerns regarding the security practices that are connected to hosting and even the service providers.

Proponents of SaaS claim that the vendors are already offering significant steps in order to combat the weakness which is associated with security loopholes. Because the market for SaaS tools has continued to increase, security is an issue which cannot be ignored.

Vendors must remain vigilant in making sure the user is protected at all times. In other words, investments in SaaS security should become a prominent area of focus in the coming years. There are many organizations who have already taken the steps to make sure they have advanced security available for their products and services. A lot of companies are already at risk of becoming targets for Internet based attacks.

Some have said that having sensitive data stored within SaaS applications is like "placing your money under a mattress." In a situation where the data of the customers is already available over the web, this data is already connected to the Internet, and if this data falls into the wrong hands, disaster will likely result.

A number of organizations are looking for new ways to connect with both employees and business partners who are located in remote locations, and this is especially true when it comes to applications that are highly critical. Before companies choose to use a specific vendor, it is important for them to review the security policies of the company. If the security policies of the vendor aren’t clear, avoid using them.

Defenses

There are a number of data breaches which have occured over the last year, and they have caused enterprises around the world to increase their awareness of the type of network attacks which could be carried out. It has become very important for organizations to protect their sensitive data, because no company today can afford to lose data, particularly sensitive data.