Systems Development: Design, Implementation, Maintenance, and Review - Principles of Information Systems - page 555

Organizations are also acquiring more virtualization software from software vendors,
including operating systems and application software. 44 Windows Server 2008, for example,
provides virtualization tools that allow multiple operating systems to run on a single server.
Virtualization software such as VMware is being used by businesses to safeguard private data.
Kindred Healthcare, for example, uses VMware on its server to run hundreds of virtual
Windows PC desktops that are accessed by mobile computers throughout the organization. 45
Businesses are using virtualization
software such as VMware to
safeguard private data.
(Source: Courtesy of VMware, Inc.)
As mentioned in Chapter 4, Software as a Service (SaaS) allows businesses to subscribe to
Web-delivered application software by paying a monthly service charge or a per-use fee.
Instead of acquiring software externally from a traditional software vendor, SaaS allows in-
dividuals and organizations to access needed software applications over the Internet. The
Humane Society of the United States, for example, used SaaS to obtain and process credit-
card contributions from donors. 46 The Humane Society also had to make sure that any
software they used was compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.
The Humane Society used a SaaS product called QualysGuard by Qualys
( www.qualys.com ) to meet its needs. According to the CIO, “SaaS opened our eyes to a new
way of doing things. With QualysGuard, we didn't need to install any software or infras-
tructure.” Companies such as Google are using the cloud computing approach to deliver
word processing, spreadsheet programs, and other software over the Internet. 47 According to
the research director for AMR Research, “It's the beginning of the first major challenge to
Microsoft as the default enterprise interface in the last ten years.”
In-House Developed Software
Another option is to make or develop software internally. This approach requires the com-
pany's IS personnel to be responsible for all aspects of software development. Some advan-
tages inherent with in-house developed software include meeting user and organizational
requirements and having more features and increased flexibility in terms of customization
and changes. Software programs developed within a company also have greater potential for
providing a competitive advantage because competitors cannot easily duplicate them in the
short term. If software is to be developed internally, a number of tools and techniques can