Microsoft offers package for software-as-a-service

In a move to take advantage of the growing market for software as a service, Microsoft Monday launched a new software package that lets independent software vendors offer their software on a hosted basis.

In a move to take advantage of the growing market for software as a service market, Microsoft Monday launched a new software package that lets independent software vendors offer their software on a hosted basis.

The Microsoft Solution for Windows-based Hosting for Applications Version 1.0 is available. It is designed for ISVs that want to offer their wares as services on their own, and for hosting providers that offer environments on which companies can host their software.

The package includes Microsoft Operations Manager 2005, which identifies and resolves problems in a hosted environment to ensure service-level agreements are met, and Microsoft Provisioning System, which automates administrative tasks such as adding new users, updating directory entries, and provisioning applications and services, the company said. The package offers other tools and systems for automating patch and update management as well as centralizing management of the IT environment.

In addition, Microsoft is providing a monthly subscription-based licensing model, Services Provider License Agreement, which lets ISVs and hosting providers pay only for the software they use in a given time period.

Pricing information was not immediately available.

Software as a service is an increasingly popular way for companies to offer their software to customers who don’t want to make a big investment in IT infrastructure. Research firm IDC estimates that spending in the software-as-a-service market will reach $10.7 billion worldwide by 2009.

Other companies that offer software-as-a-service programs and software include Oracle and IBM, as well as pure-plays like OpSource.