McKinsey Research has argued that traditional languages like Java and .Net just don’t cut it when it comes to SaaS. Instead they predict that SaaS-based development platforms, something that some people are calling Platform as a Service (PaaS), like those offered by Salesforce, CogHead and WaveMaker, will become the preferred foundations for on-Demand.
A blog by Chris Keene challenges the McKinsey prediction. Salesforce and other development platforms are closed and proprietary. Anything developed for Salesforce will only work in the Apex world of Salesforce. The lock-in and dependency to a single vendor is something that a lot of software companies will think hard about before diving in. This is in line with Gartner’s prediction that SaaS software will be based on 90% Open Source within the next two years.
A more attractive development platform would be one that is provided as a service, but one that is based on Open Source components and non-proprietary development languages.
McKinsey identified the appearance of ‘ecosystems of applications’ as an important driver behind the successful spread of SaaS. This is a catalog of interoperable applications and components, similar to the Salesforce AppExchange.
If an Open Source standard for on-Demand application interoperability were available, it is likely that SaaS would be able to flourish from developer innovation and creativity that is unconstrained by vendor-specific and proprietary systems.
