By AlienX Engineering · Published · 4 min read
SaaS is about how you get the software
Software as a Service means you use an application hosted by its provider, usually in a web browser, and pay a regular subscription instead of buying and installing it yourself. Updates, hosting and security are the provider's job.
SaaS says nothing about what the software does. A messaging app, an accounting tool and an ERP can all be delivered as SaaS.
ERP is about what the software does
ERP describes the job: one system that runs the core parts of a business — sales, stock, purchasing, finance, reporting — on a shared set of data. How it reaches you (installed, or as SaaS over the internet) is a separate question.
Why the terms get mixed up
Because so many ERP products are now sold as subscriptions you access online, people hear SaaS and ERP together and assume they compete. The clearer way to think about it: decide what the software must do (that may be an ERP), then decide how you want it delivered and paid for (that may be SaaS). They answer two different questions.