One of the questions some of our new letting agents ask us when learning about Letopedia, is where they can get the “download” or CD for their computer. To which we reply, there is no download, Letopedia is a webapp, also known as software as a service (SaaS), well what′s SaaS?

SaaS is a more modern way of accessing the software tools that you traditionally use to run your business. Traditionally, software is installed and run on each individual machine, however the companies that produce this type of software have mostly disappeared, as they can't compete with newer technology, such as SaaS. Their customers have also outgrown the capabilities of that software, such as being able to access the software from home, or on their mobile.

Some traditional application providers have attempted to make their legacy desktop software into a SaaS type system, and have miserably failed. One example is a company that provides a desktop software for letting agents, that provides some of the function that Letopedia can. In an effort to make their closed system available online, they introduced a remote desktop version, whereas, they host the software on remotely hosted machines, and then you setup a new terminal session to use it. This is not SaaS, this is remote access, it demonstrates that their software cannot be adapted to modern needs. Remote access in this method is very slow, and you still require a PC to access it, Macs or mobiles are not compatible.

Unfortunately, these companies rely on the average letting agent not knowing enough about the technologies available to make an informed decision about what they should be able to do with their software.

We′ve included this video which explains what SaaS is, how it came about, and how it differs from traditional software, we've included the key points to think about…

• You pay for SaaS on a subscription basis, rather than as a one-off purchase or with a license.
• The SaaS will take care of maintenance, security and backup for you. You don′t need to worry about the issues as you would with installed software.
• The SaaS will always provide the latest version with bug and security fixes for you, rather than you needing to download and install them on each machine.
• The SaaS is accessible on any device that can access the Internet, PCS, Macs, or Mobiles. Most software for letting agents is for PC only, and only a few of them work on Windows Vista, or the new Windows 7.
• In the SaaS, your data can be manipulated with custom modules that can be shared through the use of an API, so the SaaS can meet your custom needs. This is not possible, or is at best very expensive, in traditional software.
• There are also many environmental benefits to using a SaaS compared to traditional software.