With reference to "Software as a Service (SaaS)", consider the following statements:
- 1.SaaS buyers can customise the user interface and can change data fields.
- 2.SaaS users can access their data through their mobile devices.
- 3.Outlook, Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail are forms of SaaS.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3
In SaaS the provider runs the application on its cloud and users reach it over the internet from any device. The provider controls the underlying software, but customers can still configure their own settings, such as the look of the interface and the fields they use. Web-based email is the textbook example.
- ✓ 1. While the provider controls the application itself, SaaS products let each customer configure user-level settings — layouts, branding and data fields — within the options the provider offers.
- ✓ 2. Because the application and data live in the provider's cloud, NIST notes that the applications are accessible from various client devices, so users can reach them from a mobile device as well as a computer.
- ✓ 3. Web-based email services such as Outlook, Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail run on the provider's servers and are used through a browser or app — classic SaaS.
Remember · Cloud service models: SaaS (use the provider's app, e.g. web email, Office 365), PaaS (build and deploy your own apps), IaaS (rent computing, storage, networks).
Sources
- US National Institute of Standards and Technology, SP 800-145: The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing ↗ “The applications are accessible from various client devices through either a thin client interface, such as a web browser (e.g., web-based email), or a program interface. … or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user- specific application configuration settings.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·